San Antonio Sees Rise In Illegal Grenades
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San Antonio, Texas has seen a large increase in the purchase of old hand grenades from surplus stores and most of them are not being used by collectors. Agents from the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives say that Mexican drug cartels and gangs are buying up the old grenades and then refilling them with explosives to use against enemies and the police. The market for the old baseball and pineapple grenades in San Antonio is huge according to ATFE agents who have caught multiple suspects with the modified grenades here in Texas.
The grenades which were once used for military training are often found in surplus stores and are non-operational. The grenades generally have a large hole drilled into the bottom of the grenade and while the grenades have the pin and spoon they are just for show. With the recent explosion of improvised explosive devices being used by terrorists the Mexican drug cartels have taken notice. The cartels buy the grenades and then take them back to Mexico where they fill the hole in the bottom of the grenade and then repack it with explosives. They then hurl the grenades toward their enemies leading to mass casualties and innocents being maimed and killed.
The illegal grenade trade has gotten so out of hand that the ATF is notified immediately when someone buys 5 or more dummy grenades at a surplus store. While the violence has not spilled over the border; our weapons have. The ATF estimates that over 80% of the weapons being used in Mexican crimes are American made and purchased. To put that in perspective in the last four years alone Mexican authorities have seized 90,000 weapons.
I remember buying old grenades as a kid and filling them with fireworks but I never thought of filling them with C4. It really does emphasize their desire to kill that they are having to buy our dummy grenades. I am however thrilled that the government isn’t outright banning the purchase of old grenades and they’re actually letting the ATFE do their job. The next time you have the need for old hand grenades try not to buy in bulk.
Kens 5 of San Antonio did the following report,
