By: Teresa Mull

A pair of thieves have been charged with stealing 65 firearms from four companies at the 2019 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, but rules imposed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (the organization that puts on SHOT Show) led to the men’s arrest in record time.

Townhall.com reports:

Jamikko Foster, 27, and Eduardo Limon, 28, were charged with stealing firearms from SHOT Show. The two Las Vegas men worked as forklift drivers during the world’s largest firearms trade show, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The reason the men were caught is because the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the hosts of SHOT Show, require all manufacturers to remove firing pins from weapons displayed during the show, meaning they’re inoperable.

The Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were made aware of the situation on a Wednesday and alerted local Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) to “be attentive for any individuals seeking gunsmithing services or, more specifically, firing pins.”

Sure enough, Foster and Limon showed up at a Vegas gun shop and asked about firing pins for an AR-15. The gun store owner, according to Townhall, said “the individuals were unfamiliar and/or new to firearms.”

According to the Review-Journal:

On Monday, an ATF special agent spotted Foster’s black Chevrolet Impala, which had been seen at the Henderson store, parked at The Pearl at St. Rose apartments on Spencer Street near the gun store.

Authorities later found the weapons inside the apartments of Foster and Limon, noting in the complaint that neither had any weapons registered.

The men have since appeared in court “to face federal charges of possession of a stolen firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm,” the Journal reports.

“Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Smith told the judge that their jobs helped facilitate the thefts, though ATF agents ‘solved the crime in a near record-breaking period of time,’” reported the Journal.

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].