Rebecca Cook/Reuters
A Customs and Border Protection watch commander has been charged with running an unlicensed gun-dealing business and using his position as a law enforcement officer to sell firearms not available to the general public, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday. Wei Xu, who worked at the Los Angeles and Long Beach Seaport, allegedly sold or transferred 70 firearms since 2014—ranging from Barettas to Glocks and a short-barreled rifle. Fourteen of the firearms he sold were allegedly “off-roster” handguns, and he also is accused of selling high-capacity magazines. Xu allegedly made thousands of dollars in sales through an online marketplace after obtaining the weapons—some of which were illegally obtained in Arizona. According to prosecutors in California, a search carried out at his residence uncovered more than 300 firearms, including "what appear to be machine guns." He is accused of exploiting his “special status as a law enforcement officer” to run the operation. “We are like drug dealers,” Xu reportedly quipped after an undercover agent bought a rifle and five high-capacity magazines from him. According to a Justice Department press release, Xu could face up to 15 years in prison for “possessing an unlicensed firearm” and “dealing firearms without a license.”