Mexican national sentenced to trafficking firearms from Georgia to Mexico

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Assault rifles hang on the wall for sale at in Chantilly, Virginia, on October 6, 2017. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

A Mexican national will spend nearly six years in federal prison for trafficking firearms bought in Georgia out of the country.

Authorities say many of the guns that 47-year-old Edson Aregullin purchased illegally were used to commit violent crimes in Mexico.

What we know:

According to prosecutors, Aregullin worked with his co-conspirators to buy over 150 from dealers around North Georgia. 

Aregullin would receive the funds from buyers in Mexico along with detailed instructions about the makes and models of the firearms to buy. He would then purchase the weapons and facilitate their transportation across the southern border.

Prosecutors say a .223 caliber rifle that Aregullin bought was later used in a deadly encounter between police and armed combatants in 2022. In that incident, eight people were killed and four were injured.

What they're saying:

"Illegal firearms trafficking wreaks havoc in communities within and outside our district," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "We are proud to stand alongside our federal law enforcement partners in helping to stem the unlawful flow of firearms to criminals."

"Every illegal firearm that crosses our border becomes a weapon of destruction in the wrong hands," said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. "ATF is committed to shutting down these criminal pipelines with precision and force. Our communities – here and abroad – deserve nothing less."

What's next:

Aregullin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in firearms, three counts of trafficking in firearms, and three counts of making false statements to a federal firearms licensee in November 2024.

Earlier this month, a U.S. District judge sentenced him to 71 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.