5,500 Rounds of Ammunition Seized at Mexican Border

Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations (CBP) seized more than 5,500 rounds of ammunition that was being smuggled into Mexico in southern Arizona.

A Mexican male, 18, was driving a GMC SUV into Mexico at the Nogales Port of Entry. CBP officers became suspicious and ordered the driver to move the vehicle to a secondary inspection station. During the inspection of the SUV, officers discovered 5,560 rounds of ammunition the young man was attempting to smuggle into Mexico. The ammunition was found hidden in various locations inside the vehicle.

“This interception is a direct result of the hard work and continued vigilance of our CBP officers,” Nogales Port Director Guadalupe Ramirez said in a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. “Keeping ammunition out of the hands of drug traffickers disrupts their operations and reduces violence along the border.”

Ammunition above very small calibers is illegal to possess in Mexico. It is likely the ammunition was bound for cartel members who routinely get into gun battles with other cartel members or law enforcement.

The shipment of both handgun and rifle ammunition was seized by CBP officials and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations. The vehicle was also seized.

In November 2015, Breitbart Texas’ Ildefonso Ortiz reported that federal agents in El Paso, Texas, arrested a Mexican woman who had allegedly purchased and smuggled nearly 11,000 rounds of ammunition into Mexico. Agents had received a tip about a group that was buying up large quantities of ammunition at local gun and sporting-goods stores.

The woman was using what is known as a border crossing visa to legally cross back and forth from Texas into Mexico. That type of visa makes it illegal for her to purchase or possess any kind of firearm or ammunition.

The investigation revealed the woman had purchased 10,900 rounds of 9mm handgun ammunition and 7.62×39 ammunition used in AK-47 rifles.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.