Officials: Mexican crooks buy Houston guns

An increasing number of suspected criminals from Mexico are crossing the border to purchase readily available firearms in Houston, officials allege.

U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives official J. Dewey Webb, the special agent in charge the bureau's Houston division, alleged Houston has quickly become an ideal spot for Mexican residents to obtain firearms, the Houston Chronicle said Sunday.

Our investigations show Houston is the top source for firearms going into Mexico, top source in the country, Webb alleged.

Mexico's ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, agreed that an increased amount of firearms used in his country originated across the border.

All the weapons the drug syndicates are using in Mexico come across the border from the United States, Sarukhan alleged.

The Chronicle said more than 4,000 people have already died this year from such violence as the Mexican government under President Felipe Calderon has attempted to fight regional crime.

During 2007 alone, a total of 1,131 guns allegedly traced back to Texas sellers were found at the site of shootings in Mexico, The San Antonio Express-News reported.