A Customs and Border Patrol officer in California has been indicted for illegal gun sales since at least 2014 — and was busted after he was caught selling some to an undercover agent.
Splinter reported Wednesday that Wei Xu, a CBP officer at the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaport, has been accused by federal prosecutors of purchasing guns and reselling them on the Calguns online marketplace.
In some cases, Splinter's Anna Merlan noted, Xu allegedly bought guns accessible to California law enforcement officers for resale, which he did without a licensed firearms dealer.
The CBP officer, prosecutors said, sold four guns to an undercover agent in a parking lot. Three of them were sold directly from Xu's trunk, the unsealed affidavit claimed, and he reportedly gave the undercover agent a list of other weapons he had for sale.
The report noted that Xu's case offers a glimpse at California's "off-roster" gun laws in which law enforcement agents are able to purchase firearms that are not on the "roster" of weapons available to the public.
"In their complaint against Xu, the Border Protection agent, federal prosecutors say that off-roster guns 'garner higher-than-retail prices' in private sales 'because of the restrictions placed on them,'" Merlan wrote. "In addition, they allege, 'manufacturers frequently offer ‘off-roster’ handguns to qualified law enforcement personnel at a reduced price, which further increases the potential profit margin for law enforcement personnel who resell them.'"
Prosecutors said the CBP agent sold or "otherwise transferred" at least 70 guns since 2014. The total "off-roster" guns Xu allegedly sold is currently at 14, though prosecutors said the number will "likely" rise.
