EAGLE PASS, Texas – The small border town Eagle Pass has become a big corridor for ammunition smugglers who supply violent drug cartels.
In November, there was a large spike in smuggling activity.
“Just this month alone there have been three separate seizures totaling 700 magazines for AK-47 rifles," said Randy Clark, Patrol Agent in Charge for the U.S. Border Patrol station in Eagle Pass.
On Nov. 3, Border Patrol agents seized three black duffle bags near the Rio Grande. They were filled with 9,000 rounds of AK-47 ammunition. The suspected smugglers fled across the river.
On Nov. 5, Border Patrol agents seized three duffle bags stuffed more than 500 AK-47 rifle magazines. Again suspects were carrying the bags near the Rio Grande and escaped into Mexico.
On Nov. 8, Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 273 boxes of ammunition hidden in a pickup truck headed to Mexico. The driver was a young mother traveling with her three children.
Authorities say Eagle Pass has become a smuggling hotspot for several reasons. Drug cartels fighting for smuggling routes just across the border in Mexico need plenty of ammunition to hold off the military and federal police while defending their smuggling routes from rivals.
“We just recently here in Piedras Negras had a confrontation between two groups here in the last couple of days and they shot it out, “ said Eagle Pass Police Chief Tony Castaneda.
In his office Chief Castaneda showed off a sample of the weapons and ammunition seized by his officers in November – all of it bound for Mexico.
He held up a magazine for AK-47 ammunition, and said, “It has the ability to hold 30 to 35 rounds, so it’s pretty effective when you have five or six of these and you engage in a gun battle.” The chief then tossed it in a box filled with dozens of others.
Gun runners who help warring drug cartels stock their arsenals get a lot of attention but the criminal organizations also need an ample supply of ammunition.
Gun sales are regulated in the U.S.; ammunition is not. Gun buyers have to pass a criminal background check, but anyone over 18 can buy any quantity ammunition no questions asked, no license required. Convicted felons are banned from buying ammunition.
Otherwise, it’s not illegal to purchase large quantities of ammunition, but it is against the law to take it across the border. Even one bullet can land a person behind bars in Mexico. Even so, crime scenes in Mexico are riddled with bullet holes and cartel hit men pump multiple rounds into their targets.
According to Chief Castaneda most of the ammunition smuggled across the border from Eagel Pass was bought in other Texas cities.
“When they have a good quantity and they make a trip from Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and come to the border," he said.
Authorities say more southbound searches by CBP officers at border crossings combined with stepped up military checkpoints in Mexico have forced smugglers to resort to new strategies.
“They’re moving out now between the ports of entry to the brush and low lying areas near the river,” said Randy Clark, patrol agent in charge for the U.S. Border Patrol station in Eagle Pass.
These days Border Patrol agents find ammunition dumped near the banks of the Rio Grande as suspects flee into Mexico or hidden near the river.
“It’s packaged ready to carry, “explained agent Clark.
Police officers in Eagle Pass also find thousands of rounds stockpiled in homes until smugglers find the right moment to move their deadly cargo across the Rio Grande.
“Now, they’re trying to swim across from the American side to the Mexican side bringing the magazines, ammunition, and even firearms,“ said Chief Castaneda.
