THE GUN-HEROIN CAROUSEL

First, the gun. You can legally buy it through a "private" sale at a gun show, yard sale, online or from a dealer. Doesn't matter if you're a convicted murderer with a history of mental illness and a restraining order for domestic abuse. Anyone 16 or older with $600 can, for example, go to Armslist, com and arrange with a "private party" in Arlington, Vt., to pick up a "Zastava M92 PV 7.62 x 39 cal. semi auto pistol that has a 10 inch barrel, comes with 2 each 30 round clips." The Serbian assault weapon is, the ad notes, the "very cool... pistol version of the AK-47." "It's not so much just firearms trafficking to make a profit foff the guns themselves]," Vermont ATF Agent Jim Mostyn told Vermont Public Radio in 2014. "What we're seeing is the narcotics for the guns. Most of the firearms trafficking, if not all, has a nexus to narcotics." Or, they can travel from states like New York or Massachusetts (with stricter-than-federal regs) to those where restrictions are virtually nonexistent. "When dealing with firearms trafficking, it's 'source' versus 'market' states," says ATF Agent [Christopher J. Arone]. "The source areas and their non-restrictive firearm laws make the purchasing of firearms easier versus more restrictive states. It's as simple as that."