Thread: TX. Police Find 15 AK-47s in truck gas tank

Hidalgo Police Find Guns Hidden in Unlikely Place

Reported by: Polo Sandoval
Last Update: 5:58 pm

HIDALGO - Hidalgo police are trying to find out where a cache of high-powered weapons came from. The weapons were hidden in an unlikely place.

Hidalgo police stopped the truck with two men inside. Officers didn't expect to find more than two dozen AK-47s hidden inside the gas tank.

Officers grew suspicious about the two men in the older model Ford pickup. The two Mexican men appeared nervous to officers. Police also suspected the gas tank had been tampered-with.

They removed one of two tanks and found 15 AK-47s crammed inside. Several other rifles had been taken apart and stuffed in the false tank.

Investigators suspect the guns were going into Mexico. Hidalgo's police chief expects this to be a major seizure. The AK-47 is one of the cartel's choice of guns.

"To see a catch of weapons like this is a little bit breath taking and a little bit overwhelming when you consider the impact those weapons can make, especially used against us,â€

I.C.E. News Release

January 13, 2011
Harlingen, TX

ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents seize 15 AK 47s weapons

HIDALGO, Texas - Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) on Tuesday seized 15 AK 47 assault type rifles that were discovered hidden inside a pickup truck.

Federal agents received a call from Hidalgo Police Department after officers conducted a traffic stop on the city's east side on highway 281. During the officer's routine inspection of the vehicle, they identified suspicious activity. ICE HSI agents arrived at the scene of the traffic stop and took the vehicle to the Hidalgo Port of Entry where U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conducted an intensive examination of the vehicle. It was during the examination that officers discovered the rifles hidden inside the fuel tank of the pickup truck.

"Weapons trafficking fuels violence by criminal organizations and threatens the security of communities along our borders and throughout the country," said Jerry Robinette, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in San Antonio. "This case is an example of the important work we do in conjunction with our law enforcement partners."

On Wednesday afternoon, the driver and the passenger, Antonio Ibarra, 41, and Edwardo Ibarra, 37, respectively, were arrested on state charges for firearms smuggling.

ICE HSI special agents routinely work closely with our law enforcement partners to share our expertise in import and export enforcement to keep our citizens safe and secure.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1101/1 ... lingen.htm

15 high-powered rifles seized after traffic stop
January 13, 2011 11:17 AM
By NAXIELY LOPEZ/The Monitor

HIDALGO — Two brothers are facing firearms smuggling charges after police found more than a dozen high-powered rifles inside their vehicle’s gas tank Tuesday morning.

It began with a traffic stop at about 8 a.m. near the intersection of Military Highway and McColl Road in Hidalgo, said Police Chief Vernon Rosser.

When the patrol officer ran both of the suspects names, Antonio Ibarra, 41, and Edwardo Ibarra, 37, through their database, he found they both had traffic warrants, Rosser said.

“But traffic warrants didn’t justify their actions,â€