92K Rounds of Ammo Found During Bridge of the Americas Bus Inspection, Drivers Arrested on Smuggling of Goods Charges

EL PASO, Texas – Two Mexican national bus drivers were arrested Saturday in El Paso on criminal charges related to their alleged smuggling of firearm ammunition.

According to court documents, Lucio Enriquez Garcia, was the driver of a charter bus bearing a Mexico license plate when he approached the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry. Garcia told the Customs and Border Protection officer that he was carrying 16 passengers with some children from Phoenix, Arizona to Zacatecas, Mexico and there were no firearms on board. An assistant bus driver, Ramiro Antonio Barbosa Resendiz, also denied possession of firearms.

Further inspection revealed 26 black totes, 11 of which contained 33,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition. The remaining 15 totes contained 59,900 rounds of .223 caliber rifle ammunition for a total of 92,900 rounds of ammunition.

Garcia and Resendiz made their initial appearances in court Monday and are each charged with one count of smuggling goods from the United States. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations and CBP are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McDonald is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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