Mexico Ammo Bust: 268,000 Rounds Seized From US Truck Smuggling Across Ciudad Juarez Border

A general view of an abandoned neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state on March 30, 2012. (Jesus Alcazar/AFP/Getty Images)

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- Mexican customs inspectors seized 268,000 rounds of assault rifle ammunition found in a U.S. truck at a border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, authorities reported Wednesday.

Angel Torres, a spokesman for federal prosecutors in northern Chihuahua state, said a 37-year-old man from Dallas, Texas, was detained for trying to drive the truck across the border from El Paso, Texas.

Torres said the driver, who is being held pending investigation on illegal weapons charges, claimed he had no goods to declare when he arrived at the border Tuesday.

Torres said a gamma-ray inspection of the truck's cargo compartment revealed the presence of metal canisters holding the ammunition. He says the bullets were hidden under pallets in the truck's floor.

Two calibers of ammunition were found, which can be fired by AR-15 and AK-47 assault rifles.

Prosecutors said it was the largest seizure of ammunition in Ciudad Juarez in recent memory.

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Comments

[l monroe]

04:14 AM on 06/09/2012

Darn it I knew there was a reason I couldn't get the ammo I wanted. Sorry but this smells like government alphabet soup time again. People that would be training rounds for 120 people to third world standards, but only 60 to US standards. Who is building a very very small army in Mexico? If one is going to war one needs soldiers.

[We didnt start the fire]

07:57 PM on 05/16/2012

OK I will buy it that it was a mistake ,but that is enough ammo to start a full scale war. If 286,000 rounds killed that many people we are talking some serious war. Do US citizens need another war. Maybe this assault ammo is just intended for deer and moose hunters.

[1frank]

01:43 PM on 05/10/2012

Huufington please get yiour facts straight before posting this , aside of being 2 weeks old your report is biais and distorted , we do expect better fronm you , you are not the national Inquirer .

[1frank]

01:41 PM on 05/10/2012

Bit late in the news AOL it happen 2 weeks ago , the truck driver was not importing amunition into Mexico {the US governement does}
He got lost in the stupid turnpike and was directed that way , when He realized He was in Mexico he made a U turn and it is on his way back to the USA that He was arrested , according to local it happen all the time , Daily and you can't make a UAturn with an 18 weeler just like you do with a car.

[johndeerrm]

11:45 AM on 04/20/2012

If you want to read about what actually happened please do so here.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20429521/boss-driver-took-wrong-turn-into-juarez-load-ammo?source=most_viewed

[MJL7]

11:52 PM on 04/19/2012

This is one of the most biased articles I have ever read. This was a legal shipment of ammunition from supplier in Tennessee to retailer in Phoenix. The driver missed his exit and found himself on a one way road to Mexico, no u-turn possible. As a resident of Arizona I can tell you it happens a lot. The roads by the border are a mess.

[Kenz300]

10:52 PM on 04/19/2012

It is about time Mexico policed its side of the border.

In the past it seemed like they did not want to obstruct the traffic going north.

If they policed their side of the border better it would be much harder for people, guns and drugs to cross.

Mexico needs to do more to end the police, business and political corruption that has gone on for decades. They need to start proving jobs, safety and services for the Mexican people.

[whatusedtoamazeme]

06:40 PM on 04/19/2012

Holden has an alibi he was, wait a minute where was he?

[Michel t]

02:18 PM on 04/19/2012

Funny how other media outlet report it a driver simply taking the wrong exit.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20429521/boss-driver-took-wrong-turn-into-juarez-load-ammo?source=most_viewed

Funny how the media didn't give much attention to the U.S. Border Patrol agent arrested by U.S. federal agents on gun-smuggling related charges...

[French Toast]

02:07 PM on 04/19/2012

Not only a great bust, but a great freebie for Mexican forces to use.

[BlairCase]

04:07 PM on 04/19/2012

The truck driver was on his way to Phoenix and trook a wrong exit going through El Paso's "Sphagetti Bowl," a confusing cloverleaf. If you merge left instead of right, you end up on the freeway leading to the Bridge of Americas and can't turn around until you cross over the bridge into Juarez. Happens to people all the time. The Mexican authorities will release the driver and the shipment in a few days. Meanwhile, they'll pretend that they caught a smuggler. The border guards would never have stopped a cartel arms shipment.

[We didnt start the fire]

07:59 PM on 05/16/2012

Oh Thanks that was good to know that the cartel shipment is coming later.

[riv69man]

02:05 PM on 04/19/2012

i am thinking, let us have the ammo to shoot illegals sneaking across OUR BORDER. This will put a stop to it...

[Jorgelzorro]

01:57 PM on 04/19/2012

What do you expect?The number one producer on weapons its usa,50,000 people dead whats 200,000 more!

[Kenz300]

12:36 PM on 04/19/2012

For too long Mexico did not police its side of the border. The Mexican government was happy to see it citizens leave rather then provide jobs, safety and services for them.

[RenaissancePartyTime]

11:58 AM on 04/19/2012

Why is it that any article with any relation to Mexico shows up on the "Latino Voices" section of the paper? What does this crime have to do a Latino perspective. Shouldn't this post be on the "World" or "Crime" section?

[DingoDango]

11:35 AM on 04/19/2012

Do you honestly think that those rounds of ammo are going to be sent back to America? It will just go from one gang's hands to another (their government). Only to be sold again on the black market to the cartel who is the highest bidder. Then they will be used to shoot our border agents when the cartels are engaging in their drug/human trafficking across our desert.

Holder must be so proud!