268,000 rounds of ammo seizure
268k rounds of ammo seizure leads to arrest of U.S. truck driver in Juárez
By Daniel Borunda \ El Paso Timeselpasotimes.com
Posted: 04/18/2012 07:27:45 AM MDT
A U.S. truck driver was arrested after 268,000 rounds of ammunition were found in a tractor-trailer in Juárez by Mexican customs agents at the Bridge of the Americas on Tuesday afternoon.
The case was one of the largest ammo seizures made by Mexican authorities in Juárez since a vicious drug cartel war that has killed more than 9,500 people erupted four years ago.
Mexican news outlets identified the arrested driver as Bogan Jabin Akeem, 37, of Dallas.
Sources close to the investigation said Akeem will remain in custody for at least 48 hours while a court determines whether a criminal case will go forward.
Akeem was driving a tractor-trailer with Texas plates with the logo "McKinney Trailer Rentals."
Sources said the ammunition is of the type used for AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. The rifles are often used by members of Mexican criminal organizations.
The bullets were being transported inside metal boxes in a tractor-trailer that was stopped for a routine inspection as it entered Mexico.
The bullets are legal to buy in the United States but the ammunition is banned in Mexico, which considers those types of rifles and bullets only for military use. On the El Paso side of the border, signs warn travelers not to take firearms and bullets into Mexico.
Mexican law enforcement officials said they could not discuss the case. Mexican federal election law bars the official release of information from government agencies during presidential campaigns, but sources close to the investigation confirmed the seizure.
The seizure was made on the same international bridge where Mexican President Felipe Calderón in February gave a speech criticizing the U.S. for the consumption of drugs and for the availability of high-powered firearms that can be legally bought in the United States.
During his speech, Calderón unveiled a sign in English stating, "No More Weapons."
The sign, which is visible from El Paso, is made of parts of firearms seized by the Mexican military and welded together.
U.S. authorities have increased enforcement to try to stop the so-called Iron River, or flow of weapons into Mexico. It is not uncommon for U.S. agents to search vehicles heading to Mexico for weapons and bulk cash shipments from drug proceeds.
There have also been increased efforts to stop gun smuggling.
Last week, a U.S. Border Patrol agent from El Paso and his girlfriend were arrested by U.S. federal agents. They were accused of lying on federal forms to buy firearms and ammo intended for Mexico.
Agent Ricardo Montalvo, 28, and his girlfriend, Carla Gonzales-Ortiz, 29, are scheduled to have a detention hearing before a U.S. magistrate judge this afternoon in the federal courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
Montalvo and Gonzales-Ortiz are accused of conspiring to buy high-powered weapons and more than 20,000 rounds of ammo intended for Mexico.
The issue of weapons and ammunition from the U.S. heading into Mexico has become a major topic in recent years as the Mexican government deals with a wave of drug violence in various parts of the country.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.
268k rounds of ammo seizure leads to arrest of U.S. truck driver in Juárez - El Paso Times