Florida-based gun dealer known for supporting NRA is linked to weapon used in Paris terror attacks
Report: Dealer Says Gun Used In Paris Attacks Linked To South Florida
CBS Miami
BY
Liz Henderson
Meg Wagner
Denis Slattery
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Saturday, December 12, 2015, 12:37 AM
One of the guns used by ISIS terrorists to slaughter 130 people in Paris was once owned by a Florida-based online firearms dealer with close ties to the NRA.
The M92 semiautomatic pistol — made by a Serbian arms factory — was imported into the U.S. by Century Arms, a Delray Beach-based company in 2013, the head of a Serbian arms factory revealed Friday to The Associated Press.
It remained unclear how the weapon made its way back across the Atlantic — and into the hands of Islamic militants.
Marc Adler, president of Allan Adler, a Boca Raton consulting firm that specializes in firearms, said legally taking a handgun out of the country involves reams of paperwork and approval by numerous federal agencies.
“The export of firearms is very heavily regulated,” Adler, who questions how the gun could have legally left the country, told the Palm Beach Post.
“The only way I think it can happen would be some type of illegal transfer.”
Century Arms — which describes itself as North America’s largest importer of surplus firearms and accessories — has faced scrutiny before.
The company was linked to the 1980s-era Iran-Contra scandal when a long-time employee told a U.S. Senate committee the firm had supplied arms, including rockets and grenades, to the Contras in Nicaragua.
In 2011, the Palm Beach Post reported the company made a killing in arms deals — trading in pistols, sniper rifles and assault weapons, sometimes with the help of “unauthorized brokers.” The report was based on secret diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks.
That same year, the Center for Public Integrity reported that Century Arms’ Romanian-manufactured WASR-10 “has become a favorite of the Mexican drug cartels and in recent years hundreds of them have been traced to crimes in Mexico.”
In 2014, Century Arms donated 41 weapons to the NRA’s foundation, where they were raffled off in fund-raisers.
“The company abides by all federal, state, and local law regulations,” Century insisted in a statement released Friday.
In a video posted online in December 2013, Century advertised that they were selling the AK-style pistol PAP M92, “a brand new firearm from the Zastava factory in Serbia” and demonstrated its firing power.
A Century Arms M92 semi-automatic pistol used in the Paris terror attacks once made its way through a Florida-based gun dealer. (WSVN/YouTube)
“I personally think that (Century Arms) is being attacked for something that they had nothing to do with. They had absolutely no control of that firearm wherever it came from,” said Les Wexler, owner of K&W Gun Works in Delray Beach, who deals with the company. “I think it’s injustice to them — they should look for the criminal not for the good people.”
Milojko Brzakovic, of the Zastava arms factory that manufactured the weapon, told The Associated Press that the M92 semi-automatic pistol’s serial number matched one his company delivered to Century Arms in May 2013.
Brzakovic said the gun was one of about 25,000 hunting and sports guns shipped to the American dealer every year.
At least seven of the weapons used in, or discovered after, the horrific Paris massacre were produced by the factory in Kragujevac, in central Serbia. Most were manufactured before Yugoslavia broke up in a civil war in the 1990s and were modified versions of the Soviet AK-47, or Kalashnikov.
Gilles Leclerc (l.) shared this selfie at the Eagles of Death Metal concert while enjoying a beer with his wife Marianne Labanane moments before gunmen entered the venue and killed everyone in sight on Nov. 13, 2015. He was 32.
79 photos view gallery
Victims of the Paris terror attacks
ISIS claimed responsibility for the November slaughter in Paris. The series of bomb and gun attacks — which targeted a soccer stadium, a music hall and a row of trendy cafes — left 130 people dead and more than 300 injured.
Brzakovic did not specify exactly where in Paris the firearm was used.
Brzakovic did say the M92 pistol “is a semiautomatic weapon, a hunting and sporting weapon ... it cannot fire barrage fire, only single shots ... which are legal in America.”
All the guns were delivered to the U.S. legally, but could have later found their way into illegal channels, Brzakovic added.
The gun, made by Serbia’s Zastava arms factory, was exported to the Delray Beach-based online gun dealer.
The gun, made by Serbia’s Zastava arms factory, was exported to the Delray Beach-based online gun dealer. (WSVN)
To legally ship firearms back out of the country, an individual or company would have to be registered with the State Department.
William Hartung, a policy analyst with the Center for International Policy in New York, said there’s very little oversight that would guarantee such deadly weapons won’t wind up in the wrong hands.
“It’s hard to keep track of these things, they’re small, they’re portable,” Hartung told The News. “It’s worth taking a pause to see if we can do better. The system has been moving in the other direction toward looser regulations and we need to look at that.”
Gun control legislation — including preventing suspected terrorists on the federal no-fly list from buying weapons — has stalled in Congress thanks to the NRA’s tight grip on Republican lawmakers.
Earlier this month, a pair of terrorists used legally purchased guns to slaughter 14 people in California.
The assault rifles used by the married militants were purchased by a longtime friend who transferred the guns to the duo without the legally required paperwork.
With Liz Henderson in Delray, Fla.
0 Replies
glitterbag
7
Reply
Mon 18 Jul, 2016 11:13 am
@Baldimo,
Baldimo wrote:
You say that because the GOP didn't support the Unconstitutional No Fly list?
You mean that portion of the Patriot act you loved until you were offended that suspected terrorists could be denied the God given right to buy guns? That one?
Seems like you are making a judgement based on your own bias. Tell me again how you find out you are on the no fly list? Tell me again about the due process protections that protect against being on the no fly list?
0 Replies
revelette2
5
Reply
Mon 18 Jul, 2016 12:08 pm
@bobsal u1553115,
I agree with the one who said, enough of Sara Palin. Admittedly, she has kept up her looks, but that is the best and only positive thing anyone can say about her. Why do we even still talk about her?
As for the topic, fast food workers provide a service which Americans and those abroad apparently love going by the long lines at McDonalds. They should be able to make a living wage in this world the same as anyone else.
Yeah but she is so funny when I've had a cocktail. I may be the minority and, yes, there was a porn series called "Nailin' Palin" but I've never been taken by her. She always looks mean and hard. Kinda scary in a petty sort of way, like she could ruin one's next couple of hours if she were one's boss.
If one works full time doing anything at all one should be getting a living wage. And a living wage in San Francisco needs to be higher than the one in Pender, Nebraska.
0 Replies
revelette2
5
Reply
Mon 18 Jul, 2016 01:11 pm
@bobsal u1553115,
Well, I wouldn't know about her sex appeal, but, I like her hair. In fact, I've been thinking of going to my next appointment and just saying I want Sara Palin bangs. Wonder what people will think?
Yes you are right, a living wage is way different in different cities, but everyone everywhere needs at least 10 to $15 an hour.
THIS is why separation of church and state is not only an integral part of our US Constitution and needs to be a proud part of the way we love and cherish one another.
The idea of any religion usurping our way of life is so distasteful and disgusting that any politician that accepts money from religious lobbies needs to be tried as a traitor to our country.
I am anti racism just as much as I am anti ALL religion.
Do I study religion myself for its often ridiculous intellectual philosophies? Yes.
Do I take any of that seriously? NEVER!
"The people are my religion" (Thanks Bernie Sanders for that statement)
Bernie is right, though, I am a Hillary supporter.
I love Jews, I love Christians, I love Muslims, etc... but their religions do not belong in any political arena in this country, EVER!
