Nevada man funneled 140 guns to violent Mexican drug cartels, including powerful 'military-style' rifles: DOJ
Luis Alberto Osorio, of Elko, Nevada, pleaded guilty on Friday to a series of federal charges stemming from a scheme to supply high-powered firearms and ammunition to drug-trafficking organizations in Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada.
Court documents show that between April 2020 and last September, Osorio conspired with others to purchase 140 firearms, magazines, and ammunition on behalf of individuals affiliated with violent Mexican drug-trafficking cartels. The weapons were intended to be sold across the border for a profit.
The arsenal included large-caliber and long-range firearms such as the Ohio Ordnance Works M2-SLR .50 BMG, the Barrett M82A1 and M107A1 .50 BMG antimaterial rifles, the FN Herstal M249S 5.56x45mm, and the FN Herstal SCAR 17S 7.62x51mm rifles.
In addition to the firearms charges, Osorio admitted to employing people who were in the United States illegally at a mining company in Nevada.
He pleaded guilty to one count of straw purchasing of firearms, one count of trafficking in firearms, one count of harboring certain aliens, and one count of conspiracy to launder money. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum of 70 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for February.
"Firearms trafficking networks feed the violent cartels that terrorize border communities and pump illicit drugs into our neighborhoods," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada said in a statement. "By cutting off this supply chain and holding this defendant accountable, we are directly disrupting the operational capabilities of these dangerous criminal organizations."
Jonathan Sherwin, deputy special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Las Vegas, emphasized the broader stakes of the case. "Trafficking military-style firearms and ammunition to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico fuels violence, strengthens criminal networks and threatens communities on both sides of the border," he said. "This guilty plea is the result of relentless work by HSI and the Homeland Security Task Force and our federal, state and local partners to disrupt the flow of weapons, money and criminal support that allows these organizations to operate."
David S. Olesky, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, which covers Nevada, noted the connection between firearms and narcotics trafficking. "In the world of organized crime and drug trafficking, guns and drugs go hand-in-hand," Olesky said. "As a member of the Homeland Security Task Force, DEA and our partners will bring to bear all resources and draw on the full scope of our agencies' expertise to hold accountable those individuals and organizations which pose a public health and safety threat to our communities through the trafficking of drugs and firearms."
The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, established by an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office last year.