A Homeland Security Task Force announced the results of a two-year investigation in Arizona to combat cross-border firearms trafficking, which included five indictments and the confiscation of guns and ammunition.
The primary case consists of 21 defendants, including Fernando Daniel Castro, 24, of Phoenix, and accused co-conspirators. Castro is accused of recruiting and paying others to pose as straw purchasers, going through legal procedures to obtain guns with the intention of illegally transferring them to others.
According to the indictment, several defendants in the case made multiple firearm transactions at various gun retailers throughout the Valley.
Federal authorities claim Castro sold some of the firearms knowing or having cause to believe they would be smuggled out of the nation.
Homeland Security investigators claim they collected 100 weapons and more than 125,000 rounds of ammunition in Arizona as part of this investigation. They said they made arrests in both the United States and Mexico.
ABC15 is devoted to providing answers and keeping people accountable.Every illegal firearm and cartridge removed off the streets today represents a possible life spared,” said Jason T. Stevens, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona.
The probe included various federal agencies including the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.”We know that criminal organizations in Mexico are well-funded, and their tentacles reach into our communities,” said A.J. Gibes, special agent in charge of the ATF Phoenix Division. “It takes a network to defeat a network.”
The task force investigation that led to the Castro indictment stemmed from four previous federal indictments involving seven other defendants.
near one previous occasion, a guy attempting to cross into Mexico was detained at the Mariposa Port of Entry near Nogales in February 2025. According to the criminal complaint, he was transporting 42 AK-47-style guns and 42 ammo magazines in his van.
Several of the defendants have already entered guilty pleas in their cases.
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