Federal authorities have charged Andres Avila, a 48-year-old Mexican national living in the United States illegally, and his son Anthony Avila, a 22-year-old resident of Houston, with illegally trafficking 75 firearms and ammunition. The charges follow an investigation led by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas, working in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
According to investigators, Andres Avila is also charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms and ammunition. Law enforcement alleges that both men purchased firearms at area gun shows using cash from private sellers in an effort to avoid detection. Agents observed them filling backpacks with guns before transferring them into large totes beneath a vendor’s table.
“Oftentimes, illegally trafficked firearms end up in the hands of the drug cartels, terrorists, foreign adversaries, or other bad actors,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard. “By working alongside our partners to uncover this scheme and seize these firearms, we’ve prevented a large cache of deadly weapons from potentially being used to sew chaos or fueling other illicit criminal activity or acts of violence.”
The investigation began after special agents noticed behavior consistent with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking at a gun show. After spending more than six hours making purchases at the event, Andres and Anthony Avila left in a vehicle registered in Texas. A traffic stop revealed bulk ammunition matching items sold at the gun show. Further checks showed that Andres was not legally present in the country and is barred from possessing firearms.
Vendors at the booth where the guns were stored told agents they met Andres and Anthony through a Texas pawn shop and confirmed they paid cash for firearm magazines. More than 75 firearms were found stored in totes under their table.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Dowdell is prosecuting the case.
Authorities remind that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
