Federal grand jury indicts more in gun ring

May 20, 2011 9:07 PM


The Brownsville Herald


A second indictment returned this month by a federal grand jury in Dallas regarding a gun trafficking ring upped the number of suspects from three to eight.

The ring is implicated in the illegal purchase of weapons, removing serial numbers and smuggling the arms to Mexico.

The case includes the suspect tied to one of the weapons traced to the slaying of ICE Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata in Mexico Feb. 15, public records show.

The new indictment, returned May 4, supersedes the earlier one dated March 23 and contains 21 counts. Still named as defendants are brothers Ranferi Osorio and Otilio Osorio and neighbor Kelvin Leon Morrison, all of Lancaster.

New defendants include Angel Pablo Monroy, Rosendo Quinones, Luis Carbajal, Eder Talamantes and Kevin Bueno, the federal court record shows.

All are being held without bail.

Attack on ICE agents

U.S. and Mexico officials have said that Brownsville native Zapata, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. and fellow Special Agent Victor Avila of El Paso were attacked by a squad of hit men — “sicariosâ€