Federal authorities have charged two men with smuggling after they were discovered transporting nearly 400 firearms within tractor-trailers. The vehicles were intercepted by federal immigration officials on a bridge en route to Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Emilio Ramirez-Cortez, who holds U.S. permanent residency, and his son, Edgar Ramirez-Diaz, a U.S. citizen, were arrested last week. Customs and Border Protection officers uncovered the weapons during a vehicle inspection in Laredo, Texas.
The inspection revealed a variety of firearms hidden within concealed compartments in the vehicles, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition. This discovery was made after agents noticed unusual panels on the trailers, prompting a more detailed examination.
Customs and Border Protection agents seized nearly 400 weapons found inside vehicles driven by a father and son. (Department of Homeland Security) The cache of weapons, which included several high-powered rifles, was reportedly destined for Mexico, where they could potentially fall into the hands of criminal drug cartels, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Chris Clem, a retired U.S. Border Patrol sector chief, told that the weapons and ammunition were likely part of a deal for drugs or cash that were moving into the United States from Mexico.
“Those weapons are not going to be used for self-defense,” Clem said. “They’re going to be used for cartels for criminal actions against citizens in Mexico and or U.S. federal law enforcement.”
Both men appeared in court Monday and is awaiting details of the hearing. The father and son remain in the custody of U.S. Marshals, and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing to determine if anyone else may have been involved.
Art Del Cueto, a border advisor for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told that he has been concerned with operations that send weapons and other goods to Mexico. Del Cueto said that he believes cash is often being moved to Mexico to help transnational criminal organizations.
He said the seizure of such a large number of weapons is a sign that cartels remain a big issue for U.S. agencies working along the southern border. Del Cueto said the fact that weapons were involved suggests that the guns and ammunition were headed to Mexico were a payoff for something that was moved from Mexico into the United States.
But he said that the cartels were almost certainly the destination. The criminal organizations, he said, not only remain active but are at war with other cartels in the ongoing fight for territory in Mexico.
“They’re trying to arm their army, I guess you could say,” Del Cueto told .
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