Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Jhon Alejandro Marin-Moreno (39, Medellin, Colombia) with conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States, smuggling goods from the United States, and shipment of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. If convicted on all counts, Marin-Moreno faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, Marin-Moreno is a dual citizen of the United States and Colombia who recruited individuals in Florida to acquire firearms for him, including numerous types of assault rifles. Marin-Moreno then arranged to illegally export the firearms to Colombia by concealing the weapons in packages containing household items. Marin-Moreno and his co-conspirators attempted to obliterate the serial numbers on the firearms so that they could not be traced. Some of the firearms were acquired to satisfy debts owed for drug purchases. Neither Marin-Moreno nor his co-conspirators applied for or obtained the necessary licenses for exporting defense articles as required by federal law.

On February 10, 2020, Marin-Moreno was detained while traveling through Panama and was immediately removed to the United States to face the charges in the indictment.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Colombia’s Policía Fiscal y Aduanera (POLFA), a unit of the National Police of Colombia. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Scruggs.

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