U.S. border agent accused of gun smuggling ordered detained
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - A U.S. Border Patrol agent, accused of buying guns in the United States and smuggling them to Mexico for use by drug cartels, must remain in jail pending a detention hearing later this week, a U.S. Magistrate Judge ruled on Tuesday.
Ricardo Montalvo, 28, and his girlfriend Carla Gonzales-Ortiz, 29, briefly appeared in court for the first time since their arrest on Monday. They are charged with conspiracy to buy firearms and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition to be smuggled into Mexico.
They are accused of acting as "straw purchasers" of at least nine firearms between November 2010 and January 2011. Straw purchasers say they are purchasing weapons for themselves but conceal the true buyer.
A grand jury indictment accuses Montalvo and Gonzales-Ortiz of purchasing guns, including five AK-47-type pistols, two .380-caliber pistols, and two .22-caliber rifles. The guns are favored by Mexican drug cartels, the indictment says.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/11/us-usa-mexico-guns-idUSBRE83A03I20120411
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A .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is pictured on the left and on the right is a .223 cartridge.
In the linked Reuters article, the author and editors thought the agents were trying to smuggle 'flair guns', whatever they are supposed to be. Let's have a look at the actual grand jury indictment to which Reuters refers:
http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2012/04/040912-dal-montalvo-indictment.pdf
Montalvo and Gonzales-Ortiz might have bought two .22 caliber rifles as the Reuters article and the grand jury indictment both assert. Whether this is the case or not, such firearms are not favored by drug cartels.
