was shipped from Chicago to Dublin in pieces, where it was re-assembled. The IRA equipped two sniper teams with the light-fifties, later reinforced with a couple of M90s bought in the United States from an arms dealer in 1995. The IRA snipers killed five soldiers and a constable with .50 rifles from 1992 to 1997. The snipers usually fired on their targets from a distance of less than 300 metres, despite the 1,800 metres effective range of the weapons. Use by Mexican drug cartels In 2021, Barrett and nine other U.S. gun manufacturers were named in a lawsuit brought by the Mexican government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, seeking $10 billion in damages. The Mexican government claimed that the Barrett M82 is one of the weapons of choice for drug cartels. According to Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, an expert interviewed by Reuters, the M82 has disrupted the balance of power between criminals and poorly-equipped police forces. Variants M82: 12.7×99mm Barrett M82 semi-automatic rifle. M82A1: 12.7×99mm Barrett M82A1 semi-automatic rifle. Improved variant including redesigned muzzle brake. M82A1A: 12.7×99mm Barrett M82A1 semi-automatic rifle variant. Optimized for use with the Raufoss Mk 211 .50 caliber round. M82A1M: 12.7×99mm Barrett M82A1 semi-automatic rifle variant. Improved variant including lengthened accessory rail. Includes rear grip and monopod socket. M82A2: 12.7×99mm Barrett M82A2 semi-automatic bullpup rifle. Bullpup configured variant made to compensate for recoil by being shoulder-mounted. M82A3: 12.7×99mm Barrett M82A3 semi-automatic rifle. New production rifles built to M82A1M specifications, featuring lengthened accessory rail which is usually, but not always, raised higher up than the M82A1M/M107. Unlike the M82A1M/M107, it does not include a rear grip and monopod socket. XM107/M107: Initially used to designate 12.7×99mm Barrett M95 bolt-action rifle. Designation changed to apply to a product improved M82A1M variant. Includes lengthened accessory rail, rear grip, and monopod socket. M82 to M107 The XM107 was originally intended to be a bolt-action sniper rifle, and the rifle Barrett M95 was originally selected by the U.S. Army in a competition between such weapons. However, under the trials, the decision was made that the U.S. Army did not, in fact, require such a weapon. Then the Army decided on the Barrett M82, a semi-automatic rifle. In summer 2002, the M82 finally emerged from its Army trial phase and was approved for "full materiel release", meaning it was officially adopted as the Long Range Sniper Rifle, Caliber