Andres Avila, Trafficking Firearms, Oklahoma 2024

A pair of gunrunners, a Mexican national and his son, has been charged with allegedly trafficking over 75 firearms and a bulk quantity of ammunition in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Tulsa, Okla. – Andres Avila, 48, a Mexican national, and his son Anthony Avila, 22, of Houston, Texas, have been charged by Criminal Complaint for Trafficking Firearms and other related offenses. Andres Avila is also charged with being an Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol observed Andres and Anthony allegedly engaging in activities consistent with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking at a gun show. The pair was seen wearing backpacks and working together to purchase firearms, with court documents showing they paid cash to purchase firearms from private sellers in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection.

After making several purchases and spending more than six hours at the gun show, agents observed Andres and Anthony leaving in a vehicle with a Texas license plate. When law enforcement conducted a traffic stop, they found large quantities of bulk ammunition marked in the vehicle, consistent with ammo purchased at the gun show. A records check showed that Andres was not in the United States legally and is a prohibited person from receiving or possessing firearms.

A second records check showed that Anthony was the son of Andres. Agents interviewed the vendors sitting at the booth where the guns were stored in totes and discovered that there were more than 75 firearms in the totes. The vendors met Andres and Anthony through a Texas pawn shop and explained they would pay cash to purchase firearm magazines.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The investigation is ongoing, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol working together to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the federal government to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. The initiative streamlines efforts and resources from the federal government's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndok/pr/mexican-national-and-son-charged-allegedly-trafficking-more-75-firearms-and-bulk-0