Highlights
- Federal prosecutors unsealed a 158-count indictment Tuesday charging 28 defendants in a Maricopa County firearms smuggling ring.
- Phoenix resident Fernando Daniel Castro is accused of recruiting buyers to purchase AK-style rifles and Glock 19 pistols for export to Mexico.
- Authorities seized more than 100 firearms and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition purchased in Arizona.
- The two-year Homeland Security Task Force investigation includes defendants in Mexico, though no extraditions have occurred.
Federal prosecutors in Arizona unsealed a 158-count indictment Tuesday charging 28 defendants with conspiracy to make straw purchases of firearms in Arizona and smuggle them into Mexico, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona announced at a press conference.
The indictment alleges that Fernando Daniel Castro of Phoenix conspired with others to recruit buyers to purchase firearms from licensed dealers in exchange for money. Castro then sold some of those weapons, including AK-style rifles and Glock 19 pistols, knowing they would be exported out of the United States, according to the indictment.
Authorities seized more than 100 firearms and hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds purchased in Arizona. The criminal network made straw purchases across Maricopa County and other parts of the state, prosecutors said.
The charges were brought following a two-year investigation led by the Homeland Security Task Force. The indictment includes individuals in Mexico, though Courchaine said no one has been extradited to the U.S.
"By disrupting the supply chain, we are denying cartels and violent criminal organizations the very tools of terror that they use to exert control and intimidate innocent citizens," said Jason Stevens, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona.
The case is one of several recent federal indictments targeting straw purchasing networks in Arizona. Earlier this year, federal prosecutors charged seven Arizonans with plotting to buy firearms at Arizona gun stores and intending to smuggle them into Mexico for use by drug cartels, as Arizona's Family reported. The charges were corroborated by ICE and KYMA.
No trial date has been announced.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- AZ Family (3TV/CBS5) retrieved 04/08/2026 23:48
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 04/08/2026 23:48. Every claim traces to a source.
