Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking 140 Firearms to Mexican Cartels, Faces 70 Years
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 16
Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking 140 Firearms to Mexican Cartels, Faces 70 Years
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 16
Summary
Luis Alberto Osorio of Elko, Nevada, pleaded guilty Friday to straw purchasing and trafficking firearms, money-laundering conspiracy, and harboring undocumented workers in a case tied to Mexican drug cartels.
Between April 2020 and last September, prosecutors said Osorio and co-defendants bought 140 firearms, magazines and ammunition to resell south of the border for profit to people affiliated with violent trafficking groups.
Court records said the weapons included military-style, large-caliber rifles such as Ohio Ordnance Works and Barrett .50 BMG models, plus FN Herstal M249S and SCAR 17S rifles.
Osorio also admitted employing people illegally at a Nevada mining company; he faces up to 70 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for February.
The Justice Department cast the plea as part of a broader Homeland Security Task Force campaign against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and cross-border flows of guns, money and fentanyl.