Police: Women Wanted Crack For Rare Japanese Machine Gun Trade

[peyton]

I thought this a sad way for a Nambu Machine Gun to get found.

http://www.local6.com/news/16567104/detail.html

OCALA, Fla. -- Two women arrested during a traffic stop were apparently trying to trade a rare World War II-era Japanese machine gun for crack cocaine, police said.

Officers initially pulled over a car in the 100 block of Northeast 11th Avenue in Williston and said they found crack, a crack pipe and prescriptions drugs inside the vehicle.

When police searched the rest of the vehicle, they found the Nambu machine gun used by Japanese soldiers.

"When (the officer) started to pull it out, he realized it was much heavier than a normal gun and much bigger," Williston Police Chief Dan Davis said. "We've learned since then that the gun was produced and in service for Japan between 1922 and 1945."

The women claim one of their grandfathers gave the weapon to them but federal agents believe it was smuggled into Florida.

Officers said the gun could still fire shots.

Davis said investigators suspect the women were planning to trade the rare gun for crack cocaine.

Bowers, 45, of Dunnellon, and her passenger, Abby Ross, 45, of Beverly Hills, were charged with illegal possession of prescription drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, the Ocala Star Banner reported.

Agents are still trying to determine how the women got their hands on the weapon.

 

[LiquidTension]

Hopefully they'll be charged with possession of an illegal MG as well.

 

[Tribal]

If they're addicted to crack then maybe it's better for them to be off the streets and in a structured environment. Not that prison is anything close to being a nice place but trying to trade guns for drugs is a good way to get yourself killed.

 

[Blackfork]

legalize drugs

And cut this kind of nonsense out. They ought to be able to buy it at Wal-mart pharmacy. I'd rather make Arkansans rich than Mexican Drug Lords.

And the Nambu? Sheesh. Another casualty of the drug war.

 

[LiquidTension]

While there are some drugs that could be legalized without massive repercussions, crack is not one of them.

I wonder if they were telling the truth and the gun was a war trophy one of their grandfathers brought back? Not that it matters, I'm sure it's not on the registry.

 

[leadcounsel]

legalize it

I agree. I've said many times here and elsewhere that a primary enemy of the 2A is the anti-drug laws in this nation. Anti-drug laws have opened the door to unlawful searches and anti-gun rhetoric and laws. Think about the anti-2A laws that go hand-in-hand with the anti-drug laws. The '68 and '86 bans and the AWB of '94 were all related to "drug crimes" and knee-jerk reactionism.

If you want to stop the assault on the 2A, start moving toward legalizing drugs.

There are a number of other arguments to be made for legalizing drugs too:

1) we just commited several billions to dollars again to some S. American nation to fight drugs; when will the insanity stop?
2) we incarcerate significant % of the population - many in the prime of youth - for victimless drug crimes, at a taxpayer cost of $25-50,000 each per year!;
3) illegal drug trade FUNDS terrorism and drug lords worldwide! if you want to turn off their profits, then legalize drugs!
4) the law prevents very little drug trade or use, so much like illegal gun trade, it's ineffective and a waste of taxpayer money;
5) if it were legal, it could be regulated - making it safer for the consumer - you know, that junkie that ODs and has to go to the ER in front of your pregnant wife or child with an injury, thereby clogging up the hospital ERs;
6) if it were legal, we could tax it and regulate it;
7) the revenue generated by taxes and money saved by legalizing it could be used elsewhere, such as education and rehabilitation;
8) our criminal justice system is crippled by catching, prosecuting and incarcerating drug crimes; if popular demand wants it, then legalize it!

These are just some thoughts. Back to the OP topic, it's a shame that the machine gun and history will be kept in evidence for a few years and then likely destroyed per typical police policy.

Police agencies ought to re-sell the guns after their purpose as evidence is finished. That could raise some revenue to defray their costs.

 

[Rugerlvr]

leadcounsel, ya damn hippie liberal!

 

[shdwfx]

yes I said it. they need to be shot. and they should be by the very same machinegun.

Wrong. They need help.
That was entirely inappropriate, even if in jest.

 

[Frank Exchange Of Views]

Is it just me or does this Type II seem to be missing its backplate?

If that is the case what are the odds it still has its bolt and recoil spring(s).

Is there a Japanese MG specialist in the house that can tell for sure?

 

[Gunnerpalace]

Here we go

 

[armoredman]

...we incarcerate significant % of the population - many in the prime of youth - for victimless drug crimes...

Ah, if that were only true. Many drug criminals have other charges on thier sheet, such as burglary, theft, assault, aggravated assault, DUI, etc. They rob, murder, and steal to support thier habits, since the drug addiction won't let them . I seethem every day - maybe thier are some inmates in here for nothingbut a simple possession charge, but I haven't met one in almost 7 years.

 

[offthepaper]

Yo baby, I sez how much crack can I git for dis rat-a-tat-tat

 

[Rugerlvr]

Many drug criminals have other charges on thier sheet

Yes, but how many of those appendant crimes wouldn't have happened, if they weren't addicted in the first place?

 

[divemedic]

Many drug criminals have other charges on thier sheet, such as burglary, theft, assault, aggravated assault, DUI, etc.

Which would STILL be illegal if drugs were legalized.

The thing is, alcohol prohibition created the mafia. It corrupted the courts, the cops, and alcohol prices skyrocketed. Instead of getting alcohol off the streets, it turned many otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals.

As did drugs when they were made illegal.
As did guns when they were made illegal.

If drugs were legalized, they would be cheaper, thus criminals would be less likely to steal to afford their habit.

The other argument, that certain drugs are too bad for you and should thus be illegal, opens the door to laws against fatty foods, tobacco, coffee, salt, sugar, and meat. One man's pleasure is another man's abomination.

 

[everallm]

In general, NOT exclusively, any law that attempts to controls personal taste or morals leads, via the law of unintended consequences, to a far worse end result. Just the top three....

Prohibition - Organised crime expansion, Al Capone etc
"War on Drugs" - Well we all see how well that's going
Prostitution - Human trafficking and exploitation


But hey, It's for the cheeeldren

 

[WinchesterAA]

armored man, the other night at about 2:45AM I watched a 16 year old drunk girl walking through the neighborhood get arrested. The neighbors (who's kids were also drunk, but hid from the cops til they left, then drove off) called the cops on her.

16 years old, drunk.. How many of you were just like that, and how many of you went to jail for it?

 

[leadcounsel]

Ah, if that were only true. Many drug criminals have other charges on thier sheet, such as burglary, theft, assault, aggravated assault, DUI, etc. They rob, murder, and steal to support thier habits, since the drug addiction won't let them . I seethem every day - maybe thier are some inmates in here for nothingbut a simple possession charge, but I haven't met one in almost 7 years.

And legalizing drugs has nothing to do with this. These are crimes that they should do time for. Drugs are a choice - and in a free society they should be available. And frankly, if you did away with the inflated prices and "the next best thing" innovation on the street, something like crack may have never been created. Crack was created because coke was too expensive for most people. Crack, in a sense, was born from anti-drug laws! Had coke been legal and inexpensive, we might have never seen crack! And the cost of drugs IS A ROOT CAUSE for violent crimes and property crimes and prostitution. Do away with the profits and you defeat organized crime. Defeat organized crime by hitting them in the pocketbooks.

It's a fundamental economic principal of supply and demand. Where there is a supply, there will always be a demand - at any cost. The more we fight it, the more expensive the cost, the more people are willing to die for it because of the potential profits.

 

[statelineblues]

if it were legal, we could tax it and regulate it

Oh, yeah - people who spent their lives buying, selling, and using illegal drugs are suddenly going to become honest citizens and pay their taxes?! We'll just switch the jail population from drug addicts to tax cheats...

And hey - looks like all those .gov regulations on gasoline are working out great, so why not have them regulate drugs...

Back to the original topic - anybody see a pic of the gun? Wonder if it was the early or late version Nambu?

 

[MakAttak]

It's a fundamental economic principal of supply and demand. Where there is a supply, there will always be a demand - at any cost. The more we fight it, the more expensive the cost, the more people are willing to die for it because of the potential profits.

Um.... no. There's a supply of buggy whips. Not much of a demand.

There's also a good supply of air pollution. Any demand for that?

You may have meant the reverse: where there's a demand, there's a supply.

That's wrong too. I most definitely have a demand for the star trek transporter thingy. It's not available at any price.



(Please note, I'm not commenting on the drug arguments; I'm pointing out faulty economic logic)

 

[Nolo]

I am for legalizing drugs.
All of them.
Inevitably, any time I get on this topic with someone, they tell me that "I've never had anyone close to me be affected by drugs".
Right.
Tell that to my cousin, whom I'll just call Chris, who is currently recovering in a youth rehab program in the wilds of Utah for cocaine use. It's a wilderness survival program designed to rehabilitate kids, and it really does work. The desert is more shut off from drugs than prison ever could be.
He is now recovering. He said to his mother recently: "I just missed a whole year of my childhood".
It was the best thing I've ever heard out of his mouth. I mean that in the nicest of ways, too.
Y'know what? Anti-drug laws never helped Chris. They may have even hurt him. If his parents didn't have the money to send him to Utah... who knows where he'd be now.
I've always said:
"If you want to control drugs, legalize them. If you want to control people, ban drugs."

 

[Phil DeGraves]

Ah, yes, legalize th edrug and these people would not be breaking the law...
Right. Just like gun bans stop criminals from breaking the law.

 

[Nolo]

Ah, yes, legalize th edrug (sic) and these people would not be breaking the law...

No, they wouldn't be. Lowering the volume of laws makes for less law-breaking, all other things being equal. If there are no laws, no one can break them. If there is a law against everything, everyone is breaking the law constantly.
But I believe that was beside your point, which is to say that legalizing drugs won't solve all of our problems.
Allow me to point you to a point of history, where history often acts as a guide to the future:
Prohibition.
Do I have to say anything else?

 

[WayneConrad]

Ah, yes, legalize th edrug and these people would not be breaking the law...
Right. Just like gun bans stop criminals from breaking the law.

They'd still be doing drugs. They just wouldn't be breaking into my home to pay for it, and police wouldn't be doing no-knocks looking for it. The cure's worse than the disease.

 

[trashpickinman]

Back on the topic of the MG.

Watching the video, how can it be missing the bolt, but still be able to fire?

 

[cpttango30]

If they can't afford to buy the drugs now how in the hell are they going to afford them when we do something as stupid as make them legal?

They are on drugs and have no jobs it makes no difference weather you can go to the corner of 5th and Wabash st or to the corner CVS they still can't afford them. So what happens then A: they break into our home to steal our stuff to pawn and buy at the CVS. or B: the break into our homes and steal our stuff to buy on the street corner. Looks all the same to me.... Makes about as much since as a screen door on a submarine.

STUPID STUPID STUPID

Sad day to see a piece of history get smashed or melted into an Ipod.