Two men were arrested after authorities found 30 handguns allegedly destined for Mexico hidden in a spare tire during an inspection on the southern border in Texas, officials said Friday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) seized the weapons this week at the Anzalduas Port of Entry in Mission, a town on the Texas-Mexico border, the agency said.
DPS special agents searched a 2015 Chevy pickup as part of a multi-agency task force with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“During the inspection, special agents discovered 30 handguns, including a 5.7-caliber FN Herstal, 60 magazines and one speed loader concealed inside the vehicle’s spare tire,” a DPS news release states.
RIOTERS THROW TRASH, GARBAGE CANS AT ICE VEHICLES IN NEW YORK CITY; MULTIPLE ARRESTS
According to a DPS official, the 5.7-caliber FN Herstal is known as a “cop-killer” weapon because the ammunition can pierce body armor.
Investigators later discovered one of the handguns was reported stolen out of Austin, authorities said. The firearms were allegedly destined for Guanajuato in Mexico, where gun ownership is heavily restricted.
The driver, Luis Torres Mujica, 30, a resident of Guanajuato, and his passenger, Jesse Joe Camacho, 28, of McAllen, Texas, were arrested and charged with theft of property and firearm smuggling, a second-degree felony.
