A Mexican man's attempt to export firearms across the border has earned him a 36-month sentence in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced.
Elmer Espinoza-Ortega, 54, was arrested after an attempt to cross the Anzalduas Port of Entry on May 26, where border officials found a firearm magazine in his pocket and, after a thorough search of his vehicle, uncovered four additional firearms and five magazines hidden in the bumper, according to a Department of Justice report.
During the July 11 proceedings, Espinoza-Ortega pleaded guilty, admitting he was aware of the firearms in his vehicle and that he intended to transport them into Mexico without the required license for exporting such items; U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton handed down the sentence, following what Hamdani called an effort to "prevent transnational gun violence by stopping the export of firearms from the United States."
While Espinoza-Ortega awaits his transfer to an undetermined U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, his case casts a spotlight on larger issues of gun trafficking and its links to crime in Mexico, the Customs and Border Protection along with Homeland Security Investigations spearheaded the initial investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda McColgan led the prosecution of this case that falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a collective crime reduction initiative reported by the Department of Justice.
