U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers made a stunning discovery last Saturday at the Bridge of the Americas port of entry in El Paso, Texas. A charter bus carrying 16 passengers, dozens of pieces of luggage, and an astonishing 92,000 bullets was stopped for inspection.
The bus, which had originated from Phoenix, Arizona, was flagged down by CBP officers conducting a surprise inspection of vehicles headed to Juarez, Mexico. The drivers, Lucio Enriquez Garcia and Ramiro Antonio Barbosa Resendiz, claimed they were not transporting any firearms or ammunition in their employer’s commercial vehicle.
However, during an in-depth inspection at a cargo lot, border officers found 1,650 boxes containing 33,000 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition typically used in AK-47-style rifles, as well as nearly 3,000 boxes of .223-caliber bullets commonly used in the civilian version of the military M16 rifle.
According to a criminal complaint filed August 19 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Barbosa and Enriquez initially told Homeland Security Investigation special agents they didn’t know what was in the unmarked black totes but thought it might be machine parts. However, as questioning continued, Enriquez allegedly changed his story and revealed he had delivered similar totes on two previous trips to an individual in Durango, Mexico, who paid him $900.
Enriquez told agents that he was suspicious about the contents of the totes because he was instructed to “offload on the side of the road” in Durango. Barbosa also deviated from his original statements and allegedly said he had transported totes with Enriquez on at least one previous occasion and took them down on the side of a road in Durango.
Both men have been charged with smuggling goods from the United States, an offense that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and fines. A preliminary hearing has been set for August 22 in U.S. Federal District Court in El Paso.
Guns and ammunition are illegal in Mexico except with permits from the Mexican Ministry of Defense. The Mexican government has sued gun makers in Boston and firearms distributors in Arizona for allegedly selling firearms they know will be used by violent criminal organizations in Mexico.
Durango, a state in northern Mexico that borders Sinaloa to the west and Zacatecas to the south, is known for its connections to organized crime groups, including the Sinaloa cartel.
Source: Kxan
