PHOENIX — A total of 20 people were indicted last week and stand accused of trafficking more than 300 firearms from Arizona to Mexico, authorities announced Thursday.
The defendants allegedly bought guns from shops around the Valley and sent them to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
A total of 113 charges were issued against the defendants, including:
- 95 counts of misconduct involving weapons.
- 16 counts of conspiracy.
- One count of illegal control of an enterprise.
- One count of illegally conducting an enterprise.
Details of alleged firearm trafficking enterprise in Arizona
Between May 4, 2024, and Feb. 13, 2025, Luis Castaneda, Victor Garcia and Aaron Villescaz-Chavira allegedly conspired with the other defendants, including Michelle Iniguez, Hakeem Sharp, Sedone Rice, Marianne Rice and Selena Bustillos, to buy guns from licensed gun sellers and send them to Mexico, according to prosecutors.
The group would provide the money for the weapons and pay straw purchasers to buy them.
A straw purchaser is a person who purchases an item, such as a gun, for someone who is prohibited from possessing the weapon or does not want their name associated with the purchase, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The straw purchasers allegedly forged ATF documents to conceal the names of the people who were actually buying the guns, prosecutors said.
Over the course of the operation, the group allegedly bought 334 guns from 23 stores around the Valley.
Many of those weapons have been found in Mexico through the ATF’s eTrace system, prosecutors added.
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