Thread: Feds: Gun Used to Kill ICE Agent Traced to Texas Man

Feds: Gun Used to Kill ICE Agent Traced to Texas Man

Reported by: Oscar Adame
Last Update: 7:21 pm

LANCASTER - Federal investigators say the gun used to kill fallen ICE agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico has been traced to a Texas man.

Agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested the man and two other suspected gun smugglers in raids in Lancaster, a suburb of Dallas, on Monday.

ATF spokesman Tom Crowley says the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C., plans to release more information.

Zapata and his partner Victor Avila were attacked on a highway near San Luis Potosi nearly two weeks ago. Zapata was killed and Avila was wounded.

http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Fe ... JPI2A.cspx

. . . The gun was traced to a Dallas-area man, Otilio Osorio, allegedly part of a crime group that assists cartels by illegally selling them guns from the U.S,, one law enforcement source told Fox News, though it is unclear whether the Texas man knew what the gun would be used for.
The three men arrested in the Dallas suburb of Lancaster -- including Ranferi Osorio and Kelvin Morrison -- allegedly bought the guns in the U.S., scratched off the serial numbers and sent them to cartels in Mexico. . .

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/27 ... t-slaying/

It takes a money hungry person to sell weapons to people they know will murdered anyone they come into contact with. The gun sellers should also serve time in prison for the killing sprees occurring so often in Mexico because they provided the weapons for the crimes to be committed.

Gun used in Mexico slaying of U.S. agent came from Texas

By JASON TRAHAN
jtrahan@dallasnews.com

Published 28 February 2011 11:35 PM

Authorities say a gun sold legally at a U.S. gunshop to a U.S. citizen was then smuggled into Mexico, where it was one of those used by a Zeta drug cartel hit squad to kill a U.S. federal agent last month.

The arrest Monday of three men in Lancaster on charges of smuggling the gun, purchased in Johnson County, illustrates the increasing reach of the Mexican drug cartels, particularly the brutal Zetas.

The cartels not only use Dallas as a northern hub for their drug operations, but also buy guns smuggled illegally out of Texas to wage war on each other and any who oppose them. Firearm purchasing laws are more strict in Mexico than in the U.S.

“It’s prevalent right now,â€

WITH VIDEO REPORT

North Texas link to gun that killed ICE agent in Mexico

by REBECCA LOPEZ and GARY REAVES

Posted on February 28, 2011 at 4:42 PM
Updated today at 2:33 AM

Here is new information about a story you saw first on News 8.

A single gun has been linked to the fatal shooting of a U.S. federal agent in Mexico — and American investigators have now tied that weapon to Lancaster, Texas.

The Department of Justice isn't releasing any information on this case, but News 8 has learned that a high-powered 7.62mm gun purchased in North Texas is connected to the ambush that killed Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Jamie Zapata and wounded his partner.

On Monday, vederal agents stormed a residence in Lancaster.

"I heard a couple of those air grenades go off," said a neighbor, who watched as agents arrested Otilio and Ranferi Osorio.

They also took Kelvin Morrison into custody, who lives next door.

Federal agents said the men would purchase weapons legally at gun shows and gun stores. But then, they would allegedly sell them illegally to Mexican drug cartels.

"We believe they have their own firearms trafficking organizations, individuals here to purchase guns for these organizations," said Robert Champion, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Dallas field office.

News 8 has learned that the three Lancaster men have been under investigation since last year for smuggling. An affidavit said they sold 40 weapons to a federal informant, but were not arrested.

Then on Friday word came the men were linked to a gun found at the murder scene in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where agent Zapata was slain — even though the weapon's serial number had been filed off.

ATF agents were able to make a positive identification that led them to a gun shop in Joshua, in north central Johnson County, located 20 miles south of Fort Worth.

The gun shop owner told News 8 the weapon was purchased legally and all the background checks had been done in accordance with regulations.

But that weapon ended up in the hands of a drug cartel in Mexico and ballistics tests confirmed it was the gun used in the death of the agent.

"This is a typical firearms traficking scheme that we have been investigating for quite some time," Champion said.

News 8 has also learned that even though the serial number on the gun was filed off, agents used a chemical process called "raising" to restore the number.

ATF says Americans are recruited by the drug cartels to purchase guns used in Mexico's deadly turf battles, offering them $50 to $500 per weapon.

On Sunday, Mexico announced the arrest of two alleged members of the Zetas drugs cartel who they said are linked to Zapata slaying.

Breaking up these gun-running gangs is a major responsibility for federal agents in North Texas, but what hasn't changed is the resources they have available. The number of ATF agents working out of the Dallas office hasn't changed since 1972.

E-mail rlopez@wfaa.com and greaves@wfaa.com

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Lancaste ... 02768.html

ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata was shot and killed February 15 after he was attacked by unknown assailants while driving between Monterrey, Mexico, and Mexico City.

Informant close to Zetas helps crack case
By DANE SCHILLER Copyright 2011 HOUSTON CHRONICLE
March 1, 2011, 2:29PM

A secret informant apparently inside the Los Zetas drug cartel helped U.S. authorities snare three men for their alleged roles in a Texas arms trafficking ring that bought guns recovered at the scene where an American. agent was killed in Mexico in February, according to court documents released Tuesday.

Three Dallas-area men were arrested Monday by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other agencies, said James T. Jacks, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

The information is included in an affidavit filed in federal court that also notes Mexican officials have seized three firearms used in the deadly attack, which was carried out Feb. 15 in broad daylight on a Mexican highway.

Ranferi Osorio, 27, and his brother, Otilio Osorio, 22, were arrested at their home in the Texas town of Lancaster, Texas. Each is charged with possessing firearms with an obliterated serial number.

An additional defendant, Kelvin Leon Morrison, 25, who lives next door to the brothers, is charged with knowingly making false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms and dealing in firearms without a license

A confidential informant arranged a meeting in early November 2010 with individuals who had firearms to be transported from Dallas area to Laredo, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. The meeting related to an investigation of Los Zetas drug trafficking organization, it continues. The weapons in question were ultimately seized by U.S. law enforcement near Laredo, before crossing the U.S./Mexico border.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/7451346.html

How can the harsh crimes those offenders committed be justified, if they are not allowed to be tried and sentenced in the U.S.?