Two men from Albertville, Alabama, have pleaded guilty to charges related to smuggling over 500 firearms and large quantities of ammunition into Mexico. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas.
Emilio Ramirez Cortes, 48, a Mexican citizen with legal residency in Alabama, and his son Edgar Emilio Ramirez Diaz, 23, admitted to smuggling goods from the United States and trafficking firearms.
The incident occurred on October 23 when two vehicles approached the Juarez-Lincoln Port of Entry in Laredo. Ramirez Diaz drove a Chevrolet Tahoe with an Alabama license plate while his father followed in a Chevrolet Silverado; both vehicles were towing enclosed white box utility trailers with Mexican plates. During inspection, both men denied transporting firearms or large sums of currency.
A K-9 unit alerted law enforcement officers to the vehicles. A search revealed false walls in both trailers containing approximately 534 firearms, more than 31,000 rounds of ammunition, hundreds of magazines, scopes, lasers, rifle slings and other related items.
As part of their plea agreements, both men acknowledged smuggling weapons and accessories on multiple occasions.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña will sentence the pair at a later date. Each faces up to 15 years for firearm trafficking and another 10 years for smuggling goods from the United States; each charge carries a possible $250,000 fine. Both remain in custody until sentencing.
The investigation involved several federal agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Customs and Border Protection; and Department of Commerce - Bureau of Industry and Security (Office of Export Enforcement). Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Scott Bowling is prosecuting the case.
"This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime."
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas is headquartered in Houston and covers 43 counties stretching from Houston to the Mexican border—an area home to more than nine million people (official website). The office works closely with federal agencies as well as state and local law enforcement partners (official website). Its responsibilities include prosecuting federal crimes such as firearm trafficking cases like this one (official website).
The Southern District has had several notable leaders throughout its history (official history page), with Alamdar Hamdani serving from 2022 to 2025 (official history page). The district was established in 1902 when Congress divided Texas into judicial districts (official history page).
