Man tries to smuggle ammunition into Mexico, gets prison

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for attempting to smuggle ammunition from the United States into Mexico, according to federal prosecutors in Tucson.

They said 42-year-old Jorge Armando Lopez-Espinoza, a Mexican national, received a 46-month prison term.

Prosecutors said that in May 2020, Lopez-Espinoza conspired with others to smuggle 8,000 rounds of ammunition in his tractor trailer from Nogales, Arizona, to Mexico.

Law enforcement agents were able to intercept the shipments of ammunition before Lopez-Espinoza acquired them.

Lopez-Espinoza picked up the boxes he believed contained the 8,000 rounds, hid them in his tractor trailer and attempted to enter Mexico through the Nogales Port of Entry.

Prosecutors said Lopez-Espinoza later admitted he expected to be paid for the smuggling and had previously smuggled ammunition into Mexico in exchange for money.