Cartel-aiding Nevada man faces 70 years in prison for buying military-style firearms: DOJ
A Nevada man pleaded guilty on Friday to purchasing high-powered firearms and ammunition to sell to drug-trafficking organizations in Mexico, money laundering and employing people illegally in the US, Department of Justice officials said. Luis Alberto Osorio allegedly conspired with co-defendants between April 2020 and last September to buy 140 firearms, magazines, and ammunition for people affiliated with violent Mexican drug-trafficking cartels, which would be sold south of the border for a profit, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Nevada.The guns included large caliber and long-range firearms such as the Ohio Ordnance Works M2-SLR .50 BMG, the Barrett M82A1 and M107A1 .50 BMG antimaterial rifles, the FN Herstal M249S 5.56x45mm and the FH Herstal SCAR 17S 7.62x51mm rifles, according to court documents.Osorio also admitted to employing people in the US illegally at a mining company in Nevada.Osorio, of Elko, pleaded guilty to one count of straw purchasing of firearms; one count of trafficking in firearms; one count of harboring certain aliens; and one count of conspiracy to launder money.He faces a maximum of 70 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.“Firearms trafficking networks feed the violent cartels that terrorize border communities and pump illicit drugs into our neighborhoods,” First Assistant US Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada said in a statement.“By cutting off this supply chain and holding this defendant accountable, we are directly disrupting the operational capabilities of these dangerous criminal organizations.”Osorio’s sentencing is scheduled for February.“Trafficking military-style firearms and ammunition to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico fuels violence, strengthens criminal networks and threatens communities on both sides of the border,” said Jonathan Sherwin, deputy special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Las Vegas.
“This guilty plea is the result of re...