California Woman And Son Indicted For Smuggling Ammunition And Firearm Parts

A Long Beach woman and her son have been named in federal grand jury indictments that charge them with illegally shipping hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of firearms parts and ammunition to their native Philippines – munitions that were concealed in shipments they falsely claimed to be household goods.

Marlou Mendoza, 60, and Mark Louie Mendoza, 30, are named in separate indictments that were returned by a federal grand jury on December 10. Marlou Mendoza was arrested last week at Los Angeles International Airport as she returned from a trip to the Philippines.

The case against Marlou Mendoza, which charges her with illegally shipping ammunition, was unsealed after she was taken into custody on January 20 by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Mark Mendoza, who is a citizen of the Philippines, remains at large and is believed to be in the Philippines. The United States Attorney’s Office today learned that a federal judge has unsealed the case against Mark Mendoza, who is named in an eight-count indictment that charges him with conspiracy, the unlawful export of munitions, smuggling and money laundering.

Mark Mendoza, who was the president of a “tools and equipments” company known as Last Resort Armaments, ordered more than $100,000 worth of ammunition and firearms accessories, much of which was delivered to his parent’s Long Beach residence over a six-month period in 2011.

The items that Mark Mendoza ordered included parts for M-16 and AR-15-type rifles, and these parts are listed as defense articles on the United States Munitions List. Pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act, items on the Munitions List may not be shipped to the Philippines without an export license issued by the Department of State.

“The Arms Export Control Act is designed to keep weapons out of the hands of people who may act against the interests of the United States,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “The weapons shipments charged in the indictments allowed firearm parts and ammunition to leave the United States and travel to the Philippines, where they could have been sold to anyone. Controlling the trafficking of weapons abroad is critical to protecting American interests abroad.”

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