6 Indicted, 4 Arrested in Scheme to Ship Firearms and Ammunition to Mexican Drug Cartel
Six individuals were named in an indictment at the U.S. District Court for Central California for their roles in a scheme to smuggle weapons and ammunition from the U.S. to a Mexican drug cartel, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California said Jan. 24. Four of the six were arrested Jan. 19 as part of Operation Semper Infidelis conducted by a Los Angeles Strike Force investigation. The operation targeted a weapons trafficking organization that provided firearms and ammunition to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. The indictment charges the six individuals with conspiracy to violate federal export laws by shipping the weapons to Mexico.
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The defendants are Marco Antonio Santillan Valencia of Whittier, California, alleged leader of the firearm trafficking organization, and his son, Marco Santillan Jr., of Pahrump, Nevada; Anthony Marmolejo Aguilar of Whittier; Michael Diaz of Moreno Valley, California; Luis De Arcos of Midway City, California; and Rafael Magallon Castillo of Oceano, California. The first four are in custody. Each is charged with conspiracy to violate export administration regulations, which has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Each attempted smuggling charge listed in the indictment has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, the Department of Justice said.
“This case alleges a scheme to provide military-grade firepower to a major drug trafficking organization that commits unspeakable acts of violence in Mexico to further its goal of flooding the United States with dangerous and deadly narcotics,” U.S. Attorney Tracy Wilkison said. “We will continue our efforts to dismantle drug cartels by targeting their leadership and well as their soldiers, intercepting their narcotics and ill-gotten financial gains, and prosecuting those who provide the resources that allow the cartels to engage in acts of violence.”