Authorities have sentenced a Mexican man to more than seven years in prison for his involvement in smuggling firearms and other weapons out of Arizona.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, Jesus Angel Vasquez Balganon, who is 33 years old, was involved in the illegal exportation of firearms from March 2018 to January 2021.
Mexico recovered some of those firearms. Additionally, Vasquez Balganon exported ammunition, weapons components, and accessories, according to prosecutors.
On April 6, 2021, authorities apprehended Vasquez Balganon as he attempted to smuggle high-capacity magazines through the Nogales port of entry.
Vasquez Balganon and his co-conspirators lacked the necessary license to export firearms, weapons components, magazines, ammunition, and accessories like these, as stated by prosecutors.
Bringing these items from Arizona to Mexico was completely unauthorized.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers made a shocking discovery when they uncovered a concealed shopping bag containing 30 AR-15 guns, complete with 30-round, 5.56 caliber high-capacity magazines. The individual involved admitted to officers that he had been planning to smuggle the weapons and expected to receive $100 in payment for his illicit activities.
He had exported or attempted to export a total of 67 firearms prior to his arrest. Among these weapons were a machine gun, a Century Arms WASR rifle, and an AK-103-style firearm.
He was also involved in smuggling or attempting to smuggle 20,000 rounds of ammunition, 208 magazines, and ammunition links to Mexico.
Prosecutors accused Vasquez Balganon of engaging in money laundering.
According to the authorities, he admitted to transferring more than $20,000 from a U.S. bank to a Mexican bank between February 2019 and March 2021 in order to finance the illicit smuggling activities.
On March 14, prosecutors announced that Vasquez Balganon had pleaded guilty to smuggling goods from the U.S. and engaging in international money laundering.
He will undergo three years of supervised release after serving an 85-month prison sentence. Furthermore, the court has imposed a $97,229 order of forfeiture upon him.