Former Houston gun store owner sentenced for participating in illegal firearms trafficking

HOUSTON - A 45-year-old Cypress man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for aiding and abetting unlicensed firearms dealing, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced Tuesday.

Nicah Anderson, the former owner of NE Guns which has closed down in northwest Houston, pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 9. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered Anderson to serve two years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. Anderson was also required to forfeit the profits he earned from illegal gun sales.

"Anderson selfishly prioritized his profits over public safety," Hamdani said. "Anderson claimed his gun store was not as profitable as he hoped, but that’s no excuse for turning a blind eye so many suspect gun sales. Today, the court held him accountable for his wrongdoing."

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The case stemmed from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which uncovered Anderson allowed individuals to buy firearms on behalf of others, a practice known as straw purchasing. Between December 2022 and March 2023, these transactions included high-powered firearms such as Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles, FN SCAR 17S rifles, and 9mm pistols—weapons often sought by Mexican drug cartels.

"Violent crime threatens the safety and wellbeing of every community, and illegal firearms trafficking fuels that violence," said Michael Weddel, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF.

Authorities executed a search warrant at NE Guns on July 19, 2023, seizing 266 firearms, more than 138,000 rounds of ammunition, seven silencers, and the store’s business records. Investigators found that between October 2022 and August 2023, NE Guns received $115,000 from suspected straw purchasers.

The investigation also implicated three others: Imran Ali, 28, of Spring; his brother Ammar Ali, 26, also of Spring; and Ali’s girlfriend, Averyl Pereyra, 27, of Houston. All three pleaded guilty to conspiring to straw purchase firearms. According to court records, Imran Ali, who was prohibited from buying guns, arranged the purchases while Pereyra and Ammar Ali made the purchases. The firearms were then quickly resold, generating $97,700 in profits.

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In total, the group purchased 60 firearms, six of which have since been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. All three co-conspirators face up to five years in federal prison. They remain on bond pending sentencing on Feb. 11, 2025.

Anderson has also been allowed to remain on bond and will voluntarily surrender to a federal facility at a later date. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Suh and John Ganz, with the investigation led by the ATF.