Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Tucson Firearms Smuggler Sentenced to 60 Months for Conspiring To Smuggle Firearms Into Mexico
Defendant Assisted in Smuggling Almost 50 Assault Rifles and High-Capacity Semi-Automatic Pistols From the United States Into Mexico
TUCSON, Ariz. – Victor Coronado Jr., 40, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Coronado pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States.
Coronado was the leader of a conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the United States into Mexico between October 2019 and July 2020. Coronado and his co-conspirators purchased firearms, made false statements to firearms dealers in the acquisition of firearms, provided funds to others for the purchase of firearms and assisted in smuggling 49 assault rifles and high-capacity semi-automatic pistols into Mexico.
The firearms that Coronado conspired to smuggle are prohibited from being exported from the United States into Mexico without a valid license. Neither Coronado nor any of his co-conspirators had a valid license or any other lawful authority to export the firearms into Mexico.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, assisted by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Bolling, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
Case number: CR-02081-RM-MSA
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