ATF Arrests Two More in Mexican Firearms Trafficking Investigation

Case Result of Cooperation by Mexican AFI, Marshals Service, Douglas Police TUCSON, Ariz. Two more men arrested on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) warrants appeared on November 22, 2005 before a U.S. magistrate in Tucson in connection with an investigation into firearms trafficking into Mexico, ATF Phoenix Field Division Special Agent in Charge Lester D. Martz announced. Antonio Moran, 20, of Douglas, Ariz., was arrested on an ATF warrant Sunday, November 20 when he crossed the Douglas port of entry from Mexico and ATF agents arrested Francisco Coronado, 28, also of Douglas, yesterday. Their arrests brought to seven the number of people apprehended in the case, which has determined that at least 84 firearms, including AK-47 rifles, had been purchased illegally and trafficked into Mexico. ATF agents, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and Douglas police, arrested four men and a woman Oct. 21 in Douglas on charges of falsifying statements while purchasing a firearm. The suspects David B. Dominguez, 19; Fernando Encinas, 21; Alejandro Gutierrez, 30; Rene F. Moran, 20; and Carmen L. Martinez, 19 -- earned as much as $400 for each straw purchase when one individual buys a firearm for another under false pretenses of an AK-47. They appeared before the U.S. magistrate here Oct. 24; four were released on bond and Encinas was ordered held without bond. The ongoing investigation began when Mexicos Federal Investigations Agency (AFI) arrested two Mexican citizens in the state of Sonora, which borders Douglas, for trafficking in firearms. The suspects had nine firearms, including five AK-47s, in their possession when they were apprehended. ATF is proud of the cooperative effort between law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border because crime knows no borders, Tucson Resident Agent in Charge Sigberto Celaya said. The latest arrests came one month after ATF Director Carl J. Truscott met with U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza, Mexican Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca and other law enforcement officials in Mexico City and pledged closer cooperation in the fight against firearms trafficking.