Lukeville CBP seizes weapons, ammo

LUKEVILLE, Ariz. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Lukeville Port of Entry stopped an attempt to smuggle assault rifles, along with magazines and ammunition, into Mexico.

On Aug. 8, at approximately 6 p.m. while CBP officers were performing outbound inspections, they encountered a 35-year-old Mexican national driving a pickup loaded with a television and stove.  The man was referred to a secondary inspection, which disclosed anomalies similar to weapons and ammunition. Subsequently, the subject was placed under arrest. After concurrence by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the television and stove were dismantled. The stove contained 11 packages of ammunition for assault rifles and the television contained 9 packages with four assault rifles and additional magazines.

The subject was turned over to ICE for prosecution. Subsequent questioning resulted in a warrant being served by ICE agents on a home in Phoenix, which yielded the discovery of additional appliances that were modified for similar usage.

“This case demonstrates the commitment of both ICE and CBP to stop the flow of firearms from the United States into Mexico,” said Rodney Irby, assistant special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Sells. “As the result of this discovery by CBP and a follow-up investigation by ICE, there are now 15 weapons that won't make their way into the hands of the cartels and there is one less provider of weapons on our streets."

“Keeping dangerous weapons off the streets by making seizures as significant as these contributes to the overall safety of our border areas,” said Port Director Efrain Solis. “Our commitment to intelligence sharing between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies continues to produce results; in this case toward stemming the flow of weapons and drugs through our ports of entry.”

A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt.  An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.