Phoenix City Council votes to send 'unclaimed' firearms to National Police of Ukraine

The Phoenix City Council passed a vote last week that allows up to 600 unclaimed guns from Phoenix to be donated to the National Police of Ukraine.

The plan is going through a contract with a company, DT Gruelle, that is specially approved for overseas arms trading. Around $200,000 worth of firearms will be handed over to the company for shipment, according to the Arizona Daily Independent. 



Under Arizona City law, unclaimed arms need to be resold within one year after they have been obtained by the city. The arms are disposed of or sold "to any business that is authorized to receive and dispose of the article under federal and state law."

In the June 28 City Council report, the city "selected approximately 500-600 unclaimed firearms to transfer through Gruelle, a private company which provides export and import services." The plan passed with unanimous support. 

The report stated that "firearms are unclaimed when there has been no owner contact after a thirty day notice, in which case the City can dispose of them." The Phoenix Police Department states that the firearms are "lost, unclaimed, or found in possession of the Phoenix Police Department." KJZZ said of unclaimed firearms, "essentially they end up in the police department’s lost and found"

"Only 9mm, 45mm, 39mm and 12 gauge firearms will be sent," according to the notes. 

The council promoted the "two year" contract with the private company and, according to the meeting notes, no taxpayer money will be "expended by the City."

However, questions about the transfer of arms have been raised. The law in Arizona states that firearms that are authorized to be sold by the city need to be sold "to the public" by the business. 

The company's website says, "We have a breadth of experience due to 40 years of continuous support to the United States and over 150 other countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine."

"We comply with all required procedures which permeate through our ongoing operations," it goes on. 

The company has a history of working in Ukraine. In April of 2022 last year, a report showed that a township in Pennsylvania worked with DT Gruelle to raise funds for the Ukrainian war effort, according to the Tribune-Democrat.