A New Braunfels man and his brother-in-law, a former worship leader turned gospel singer, have been slapped with federal charges for allegedly attempting to smuggle a cache of assault-style rifle parts into Mexico, reportedly enough to equip a small army.
In a recent indictment, Chandler B. Bradford, a 34-year-old previously licensed gun dealer, and his brother-in-law, Troy Vernon Erbe, were accused of conspiring to send gun parts for about 4,800 AR-15-style rifles to an undisclosed contact in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, KSAT reported. Federal authorities suggest that Bradford lacked the necessary export license for such an operation, although he once held a federal firearms license to sell guns within the United States.
The duo is facing multiple charges, including conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States, conspiracy to traffic firearms, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they face up to two decades behind bars, according to a Department of Justice news release obtained by Express-News. The money allegedly behind this cross-border operation was substantial, with more than $3.5 million said to have changed hands, often in cash during meetings in exotic beach locales in Mexico.
Bradford and Erbe allegedly went to elaborate lengths to get the parts across the U.S.-Mexico line, using a shuttered hot rod shop in New Braunfels as a forwarding address, and later a trucker carried them to the border, according to court records, and ultimately Bradford himself eventually drove parts to storage units straddling the Texas-Mexico threshold. In terms of hardware, we're talking highly sophisticated, deadly pieces that could be assembled to create a formidable arsenal, "AR-15-style rifles are highly sought after by Mexican drug cartels for their firepower, reliability, and use in protecting territory and trade," Assistant U.S. Attorney William Calve was quoted saying in the indictment.
Erbe, who had moved from Indiana to New Braunfels to assist Bradford, is scheduled for his initial court appearance on December 14, meanwhile, a third unidentified co-defendant remains out of U.S. custody, as reported by KSAT. It's a case that uncovers the thin line between lawful commerce and the clandestine web of international arms trafficking.
