SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah federal grand jury indicted five Salt Lake County residents on charges related to their attempt to smuggle illegally purchased guns into Mexico.
Speaker boxes full of guns were confiscated at the Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas in an operation known as the Safer Communities Act to halt gun violence.
According to court documents, between October 2022 and March 2023, they used each other's credit cards to buy the guns, but stated they were the actual purchasers in an attempt to shield their trail from ATF authorities.
Beretta pistols, Ruger rifles, and Zastava ZPA M70 rifles were among the 34 illegally purchased guns seized.
Javier Catalan Bahena, 34, Erasmo Martinez, 43, Alvaro Martinez, 23, Filiberto Ocampo, 50, and Oscar Martinez, 24 were all indicted with conspiracy to make false statements during acquisition of firearms.
Additional individual charges include smuggling and straw purchases of a firearm.
The case is being investigated jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and West Valley City Police Department.
