Drug supplier offered ‘Bouncing Betty’ WWII landmines together with meth and cocaine
A woman has been jailed for 14 and a half years after prosecutors said she ran an illegal enterprise selling cocaine, fentanyl and meth, plus “Bouncing Betty” WWII-era landmines
Christina Eileen Gonzalez(Image: Arizona Attorney General’s Office)
A woman has been jailed for 14 and a half years after prosecutors said she was selling cocaine, fentanyl, meth, and a very peculiar type of weapon. Christina Eileen Gonzalez, from Arizona, USA, has been charged with running a weapon business selling so‑called “Bouncing Betty” World War II-era landmines.
Gonzalez reportedly pleaded guilty to attempted transportation of drugs for sale, attempted money laundering, and conducting an illegal enterprise. The criminal was subsequently sentenced on May 11 after pleading guilty to several charges.
“Arizonans deserve to be safe in their communities, and my office will not tolerate criminal enterprises that flood our streets with deadly drugs and weapons,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said.
Mayes added, according to KOLD News 13: “Gonzalez will now spend 14 1/2 years in prison for her crimes. My office is grateful to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for their outstanding work on this investigation.”
Gonzalez’s alleged “landmines” may not have been usable military weapons, other reports suggested. Some reports indicated they were inert, replicas or non-functional devices presented as part of the “menu” of items offered during the investigation, though even attempting to sell them as live explosives can still be treated seriously by the courts.
The case was not framed as a one-off sale, but as an ongoing criminal operation. Authorities described Gonzalez as running a drug-selling enterprise, with money laundering charges indicating prosecutors believed there were deliberate attempts to disguise or move proceeds.
The “Bouncing Betty” is the common nickname for the German S-mine (Schrapnellmine), a World War II anti-personnel weapon designed to maim or kill soldiers on foot. First developed in the 1930s, it is widely regarded as the earliest widely-used “bounding mine”, so called because it launches itself into the air before exploding.
The mine could be triggered by a pressure fuse, often cited as requiring around 15lb of force, or by a tripwire. Once activated, an initial charge would fire the inner canister up to roughly one metre into the air. It would then detonate at around waist height, blasting shrapnel in all directions.
Historical descriptions say the main charge could scatter hundreds of steel balls or fragments, making it deadly at close range and capable of causing serious injury much further away. The name “Bouncing Betty” is understood to have been coined by American troops.
British soldiers are often reported to have used darker slang for the weapon because of where it burst, with nicknames linked to the injuries it could inflict.
Although S-mines were principally used in continental Europe and North Africa, the wider legacy of wartime landmines still matters in Britain today through the ongoing risk posed by unexploded ordnance.
Live historic munitions are occasionally uncovered during building work, farming or at industrial sites, and are dealt with by specialist bomb disposal teams.
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