Julio Cesar Flores-Martinez, Assault Rifle Magazine Smuggling, Texas 2012

Laredo, TX – In a shocking case of attempted smuggling, two Mexican nationals, Julio Cesar Flores-Martinez, 47, and Francisco Padilla-Perez, 41, have been ordered to prison for their roles in attempting to smuggle 652 assault rifle magazines into Mexico.

Visiting United States District Judge Keith P. Ellison handed down the sentences, ordering Flores-Martinez to serve 46 months in federal prison and Padilla-Perez to serve 50 months in federal prison. As illegal aliens, both are expected to face deportation proceedings following release from prison. In sentencing the pair, Judge Ellison commented that “both of these defendants have caused me great unease.”

The undercover operation was conducted by Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in April 2012. Padilla-Perez contacted the agents and placed his order for 650 high-capacity AK-47 assault rifle magazines, which he agreed to pay $19,500 in cash for. On April 19, 2012, he met with the undercover agents at a parking lot in Laredo, where he showed them the money and told the agents he had already secured a Mexican truck driver to smuggle the magazines into Mexico.

Flores-Martinez, the Mexican truck driver, had arrived at the same parking lot at Padilla-Perez’s request and was waiting for the hand-off. Padilla-Perez inspected the contents of nine suitcases brought by the agents, which were packed with the 652 magazines. He and the agents then walked over to Flores-Martinez, who received the suitcases and hid them in the cab of his semi-tractor. Padilla-Perez handed the undercover agents a white plastic bag containing $19,500 cash.

Flores-Martinez ultimately drove to one of the international bridges in Laredo, where the items were discovered, and he was subsequently arrested. At sentencing today, Flores-Martinez maintained that Padilla-Perez promised to pay him $1,500 for smuggling the merchandise into Mexico.

The matter was investigated by HSI and ATF in conjunction with the Laredo Police Department, Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of State. Several police officers and Border Patrol agents have been cross-designated as ATF task force officers working directly with the federal agency, assisting in the investigation of this and other crimes. Assistant United States Attorney Homero Ramirez prosecuted the case.

Both men have remained in federal custody since the day of their arrest and will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Related Federal Cases