After police in Colorado found that two Mexican nationals were smuggling an estimated 180,000 rounds of powerful ammunition across state boundaries, they were taken into custody.
Deputies stopped a white van for failing to dim its headlights and other minor infractions during a regular traffic stop in Cañon City, which led to the discovery. Authorities discovered that the vehicle was filled with boxes of 7.62 and.308 caliber ammunition, each of which was marked as holding 1,000 rounds, after conducting additional investigation.
The accused, Humberto Ivan Amador Gavira, 24, and Caesar Ramon Martinez Solis, 41, were both in the country on nonimmigrant visas. Federal charges have been brought against them for illegally possessing ammunition while they were in the country on one of these visas.
According to investigators, the two went from Mexico to Denver to buy a car, and then they went to Salt Lake City to get the ammunition. The men said they were headed to Pueblo, Colorado, to deliver the haul.
Federal investigators are looking into whether the ammo was meant for use by cartels or criminal networks. The arrests are part of a larger federal investigation that targets illegal weapons trafficking within the borders of the United States and transnational threats.