Authorities have charged Andres Avila, a 48-year-old Mexican, and his son, Anthony Avila, 22, of Houston, Texas, with illegally trafficking firearms. The charges follow their alleged involvement in trafficking 75 firearms and ammunition purchased at local gun shows.
The investigation, which was performed by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Dallas, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, discovered that Andres Avila is also charged with being an illegal alien in the United States in possession of firearms and ammunition. Special agents witnessed the Avilas engaged in straw purchases and gun trafficking actions, such as transporting firearms in backpacks and paying cash to avoid detection, according to a news release from the authorities involved.
Travis Pickard, HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge, stated, “Oftentimes, illegally trafficked firearms end up in the hands of the drug cartels, terrorists, foreign adversaries, or other bad actors. By working alongside our partners to uncover this scheme and seize these firearms, we’ve prevented a large cache of deadly weapons from potentially being used to sew chaos or fueling other illicit criminal activity or acts of violence.”
According to court documents, the Avilas left a gun show after more than six hours in a vehicle with a Texas license plate. A traffic stop found a substantial amount of bulk ammo in the truck. Further inquiry revealed that Andres Avila is in the United States illegally and is forbidden from receiving or owning guns.
Vendors at the gun show, who met the Avilas through a Texas pawn shop, verified that Andres Avila was not lawfully present in the United States and that the firearms were stored in totes beneath their booth. John W. Dowdell, an Assistant United States Attorney, is prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is only an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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