Two Alabama men have been charged with smuggling over 300 firearms, along with ammunition and magazines, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas.
Emilio Ramirez Cortes, a 48-year-old Mexican citizen legally residing in the United States, and his son Edgar Emilio Ramirez Diaz appeared in federal court in Laredo following their arrest. Both are being held pending a detention hearing scheduled for October 31.
The two face charges related to smuggling firearms, ammunition, magazines, and other accessories as well as trafficking firearms.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated: “Disrupting the illegal flow of weapons into Mexico is a key part of our whole-of-government approach to dismantling the cartels. This significant seizure represents our commitment to protecting Americans from brutal cartel violence.”
U.S. Attorney Ganjei commented: “Those that illegally traffic guns to Mexico empower cartels to terrorize the innocent. This seizure of an immense quantity of firearms illustrates the Southern District of Texas’s full-spectrum approach to fighting the cartels. We will attack every facet of their operations until they are wiped off the face of the earth.”
According to authorities cited in the criminal complaint, on October 23 two vehicles suspected of traveling together approached the Juarez-Lincoln Port of Entry in Laredo. The complaint alleges that Ramirez Diaz was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe with Alabama license plates while his father followed in a Chevrolet Silverado with Mexican plates; both vehicles were towing enclosed white box utility trailers.
Officials reported finding false walls inside both trailers, which concealed more than 300 rifles and pistols along with various calibers of ammunition and magazines.
Court records indicate that both men were allegedly transporting these items for payment and had engaged in similar activities on multiple occasions.
The investigation involved Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Scott Bowling is prosecuting this case.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative designed to use all available resources against illegal immigration, drug cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime through coordinated efforts such as those from Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Authorities emphasized that a criminal complaint is only an accusation; defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty through due process.
