Thread: 2 Mexican men charged in plot to buy weapons

2 Mexican men charged in plot to buy weapons
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Posted: 04/14/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT


EL PASO -- Two men from Guadalajara, Mexico, are accused of trying to buy $2 million worth of weapons and ammunition from undercover federal agents in El Paso.

Osvaldo Tostado Gonzalez, 31, and Gabriel Gonzalez Gonzalez, 38, allegedly planned to smuggle automatic rifles and other fire arms into Mexico, said Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Both men made an initial appearance before a federal magistrate Monday. A detention hearing is set for Thursday.

The men were arrested Saturday by the multi-agency Border Enforcement Security Task force, known as the BEST team, when they met undercover agents to negotiate a price for the weapons at an East Side parking lot, Zamarripa said.

Tostado and Gonzalez allegedly had a list to buy 300 AR-15 or AR-16 rifles, 10 .50-caliber rifles, 300 short-barreled .223 rifles, two 40-mm grenade machine guns and 20 handguns with silencers.

The undercover sting began in December when El Paso police learned of a person looking to buy weapons to take into Mexico, ICE officials said.

The suspected gun buyers met with undercover agents Dec. 20 and provided a $148,045 cash down payment Jan. 29, officials said.

In follow-up negotiations in February and March, the undercover agents showed assault the rifles to the suspected gun smugglers.

Whether the men are linked to Mexican drug cartels is under investigation, but the firearms list includes weaponry favored by drug traffickers. The powerful .50-caliber rifle is especially coveted for its ability to pierce bulletproof vehicles.

The BEST team includes members of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, the Border Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration, El Paso police and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102
http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_12136411

UPDATE: New details on weapons smuggling sting operation

Posted: April 13, 2009 04:06 PM CDT

Updated: April 16, 2009 07:08 PM CDT

Associated Links

READ the affidavit

EL PASO, Texas -- A criminal complaint affidavit obtained by the ABC-7 I-Team reveals new details about the undercover operation in which two Mexican nationals were arrested for allegedly attempting to buy firearms in the U.S. to smuggle into Mexico.

Osvaldo Tostado Gonzalez, 31, and Gabriel Gonzalez Gonzalez, 38, both of Guadalajara, were arrested last weekend after undercover law enforcement agents said they offered to sell them nearly $2 million in weapons and ammunition. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the El Paso Police Department participated in the undercover operation.

The suspects allegedly planned to keep the weapons in El Paso and smuggle the weapons across the border after the Mexican Army left Juarez, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit provides the following timeline for the undercover operation:

Dec. 3 - El Paso police receive tip about Mexican national wanting to illegally export automatic weapons.

Dec. 20 - Gonzalez and Tostado request $2 million in firearms at a meeting in Las Cruces. The two suspects allegedly request weapons including 300 AR-15 or AR-16 rifles, 300 short-barreled rifles, 10 .50 caliber rifles, 20 handguns, two 40-mm grenade machine guns and large amounts of ammunition.

Jan. 29 - Tostado allegedly delivers $148,045 in U.S. currency in a green duffel bag to two undercover agents in the parking lot of an El Paso restaurant.

Feb. 11 - Undercover agents show Gonzalez some of the firearms he believed he was purchasing at a warehouse in El Paso.

March 5 - Undercover agents show Gonzalez and two unidentified companions more firearms. Payment, delivery and export of weapons are discussed.

April 11 - Tostado and Gonzalez arrested when they allegedly arrive in El Paso to negotiate the final payment for the firearms cache. Tostado said he was paid $100 to deliver the bag of cash. Gonzalez stated he was in California on Dec. 20 and that agents had him confused with someone else.

Tostado and Gonzalez appeared in federal court on Monday. The two were denied bond at a detention hearing Thursday. They will remain jailed until their trial begins at a date yet to be determined.

To read the criminal complaint for yourself, click here.

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... 1&nav=abc0


Related
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-153167.html