A man living in the U.S. illegally and his son have been charged with trafficking over 75 firearms and large amounts of ammunition purchased at gun shows in Texas, following a federal investigation, authorities said.
Father and son arrested
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Andres Avila, 48, a Mexican national, and his son, Anthony Avila, 22, a Houston resident, were arrested after Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol observed them allegedly purchasing firearms in bulk, according to a news release.
Alleged trafficking method
Andres is also charged with being an unauthorized immigrant in possession of firearms and ammunition, which is against federal law. According to court records, agents observed the father and son working together at a gun show, wearing backpacks and repeatedly loading them with firearms before emptying them into huge plastic totes stashed beneath a vendor’s booth. In order to escape detection, investigators stated they bought guns from private sellers with cash.
Vendors at the booth where the guns were stored told police they met the father and son in a Texas pawn shop and assumed they were paying cash for rifle magazines. Agents discovered more than 75 weapons in the totes, according to the announcement.
ICE investigators reported that the two spent more than six hours shopping before leaving in a car with Texas plates. A subsequent car stop discovered bulk ammo that matched products from the gun exhibition, according to officials.
According to ICE agents, a records check found that Andres Avila was in the country unlawfully.
Weapons for “bad actors”
“Oftentimes, illegally trafficked firearms end up in the hands of the drug cartels, terrorists, foreign adversaries or other bad actors,” said Travis Pickard, HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge.
He said that the capture prevented “a large cache of deadly weapons” from being utilized in violent crimes.
John W. Dowdell, an Assistant United States Attorney, is prosecuting the case.
