3 Army soldiers, 9 others accused in gun trafficking ring

By MICHAEL BALSAMO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twelve people, including three U.S. Army soldiers, are accused in a large-scale gun trafficking ring that prosecutors allege supplied nearly 100 guns to gang members in Chicago. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the indictment at a news conference in Washington on Friday. Prosecutors allege the three soldiers, who were stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, would legally purchase guns from local dealers in Tennessee and Kentucky and are accused of them selling them to members of the Gangster Disciples street gang in the Pocket Town neighborhood of Chicago. The case is the latest example of the Justice Department’s push to aggressively investigate and prosecute gun trafficking as federal officials work to rising violent crime across the U.S.