Editing Arms trafficking (section)

==Global market value==
Though one of the least profitable illegal trades, arms trafficking made an estimated $1.7-3.5 billion in 2014, making it the 9th largest criminal market, which was valued at $1.6-2.2 trillion.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=May|first=Channing|title=Transnational Crime and the Developing World|publisher=Global Financial Integrity|year=2017|page=xi}}</ref>

The [[AK-47]] is one of the most appealing weapons in the illegal weapons trade due to its low cost and reliability.<ref name=":02">{{Citation|last=Brauer|first=Jurgen|title=Handbook of Defense Economics - Defense in a Globalized World|date=2007|volume=2|pages=973–1015|chapter=Chapter 30 Arms Industries, Arms Trade, and Developing Countries|publisher=Elsevier|language=en|doi=10.1016/s1574-0013(06)02030-8|isbn=978-0-444-51910-8}}</ref> In Iraq, a smuggled AK-47 typically costs $150–300. In the first sixth months of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], the influx of new weapons lowered the AK-47's price, to the point the weapon was sold for as low as $25, or sometimes, nothing.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Karp|first=Aaron|title=Small Arms Survey|year=2004|page=48|chapter=Chapter 2. From Chaos to Coherence?: Global Firearms Stockpiles}}</ref> Comparatively, AK-47s sold on the [[Dark web]] in the United States can cost as much as $3,600,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stilwell|first=Blake|title=The AK-47: Everything You Want to Know|url=https://www.military.com/off-duty/ak-47-all-about.html|website=Military.com|date=August 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406205019/https://www.military.com/off-duty/ak-47-all-about.html|archive-date= April 6, 2023}}</ref> as the price of illegal arms is increased greatly by the distance it must travel, due to the induced risk. A [[handgun]] trafficked from the United States to [[Canada]] can have its price increase by 560% from just crossing the border.<ref>{{Cite book|last=May|first=Channing|title=Transnational Crime and the Developing World|publisher=Global Financial Integrity|year=2017|page=14}}</ref> Weapons smuggled overseas will usually take several, short trips with multiple companies to mask the country of origin and the original sellers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cattaneo|first=Silvia|title=Small Arms Survey|publisher=Graduate Institute of International Studies|year=2004|page=145|chapter=Chapter 5. Targeting the Middlemen: Controlling Brokering Activities}}</ref>

In the United States, biker gangs have been connected to arms trafficking. United States [[Law Enforcement Agencies|law enforcement agencies]] started investigating [[Outlaw motorcycle club|bike gangs]] in the late 90s, and started classifying them as organized criminal organizations. This was mainly due to the fact that they were able to get control of the prostitution market and the smuggling of stolen goods such as weapons, motorcycles, and car parts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Piano |first=Ennio E. |date=2018-08-01 |title=Outlaw and economics: Biker gangs and club goods |journal=Rationality and Society |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=350–376 |doi=10.1177/1043463117743242 |s2cid=149027132 |issn=1043-4631}}</ref>