Some areas of organized criminal activity are finding themselves challenged this week, with slowdowns in the illicit production, sale and distribution of bullets being reported nationwide.
Speculation has been rife regarding the reasons for the so-called ‘Bullet Slowdown’, with scrutiny increasingly being placed upon the intentions of three bullet producing, criminally affiliated parties (The Crew known as The Company, and both the Death Valley and Enemy of The State criminal gangs). These parties are known to control illicit bullet production in Michigan, New York and Illinois respectively and it is rumored that these parties are currently restricting bullet distribution to trusted hit-men and associates within their own criminal networks. Responses from elements within the criminal fraternity have been mixed, and have ranged from hushed suggestions to forcibly break up any potential ‘production alliance’; to covertly funding political pressure groups to lobby State Authorities to permanently introduce ‘State Owned’ production in order to protect Second Amendment rights.
However not all responses to this development have been negative, with some arguing that the management of bullet production, illicit or otherwise, is in the hands of those operating the facilities. The key arguments in favor of discretionary production have centered on the rights of citizens to manage their production facilities how they please; with no obligation to pleasing all consumers. This viewpoint is further solidified in mafia and criminal circles, where competition for power is often brutal and cutthroat.
When reached for comment, an anonymous source from a controlling party has emphasized that bullet production “does not make that much money anyway” and that they “don’t want anyone other than my guys buying bullets from our factory”. The same source also denied the presence of any ‘production alliance’ and stated that production is solely at their discretion.
The complications faced by affected criminal organisations, and perhaps even private citizens hoping to ‘arm up’, were further exacerbated by the recent incarceration of prolific West Coast Don Quadrant on unknown charges. Quadrant’s incarceration had a knock-on effect by temporarily stopping bullet production in California and New Jersey; and causing bullet production operations in Nevada to be temporarily controlled by the State. At the time of writing, bullet operations have been restored in California and New Jersey by Quadrant’s fellow members of the California-based Crew known as The Sacred Empire while the State still controls Nevada. The longer term plans in these three states, Nevada in particular, remain to be seen.
Activities and plans of other criminal organisations have been hard to verify, even when undercover, but mutterings from a number of anonymous sources suggest that criminals and Mafia associates are increasingly using Gold and other black market currencies to source bullets from either corrupt military officials or criminal organisations overseas. This has typically come at a higher cost than by sourcing bullets through more local channels, and it remains to be seen if this will prove to be a stumbling block for future criminal conflicts and massacres (of which the recent ones can be read about in detail within this very paper).
The ramifications of this ‘Bullet Slowdown’ remain to be seen, with developments still continuing to arise. Rumored long-term involvement from the Federal ‘Elite Guard’ has not been confirmed as this stage, and it is unknown whether State Authorities will bow to the pressure to permanently introduce legal, state operated bullet production. The Buzz will keep reporting on this issue as it develops.
