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    Man pleads guilty to smuggling gun linked to deadly Mexico kidnapping

    BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS (AP) – A Texas man pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to purchasing a gun for a Mexican drug cartel that was linked to the deadly kidnapping of four Americans.

    Roberto Lugardo Moreno Jr, 42, of Harlingen, Texas, appeared before a federal judge in Brownsville and entered his guilty plea to charges of straw purchasing and smuggling a firearm.

    Lugardo Moreno bought a multi-caliber AR-style pistol at a pawn shop in 2019 and lied on a form stating he was the buyer when he purchased it for a Gulf Cartel member in Mexico, according to a federal complaint.

    “All too often, firearms are trafficked into Mexico where they end up in the hands of criminals who use them to murder, rob and extort innocent people,” United States (US) Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said in a statement.

    “This case is a textbook example of the dangers involved when criminals transport weapons into Mexico.”

    Sentencing was scheduled for August. A public defender appointed for Lugardo Moreno did not respond to a call and e-mail request for comment.

    The kidnapping occurred in Matamoros, Mexico, which is located just across the border from Brownsville.

    The serial number of a firearm Lugardo Moreno purchased in October 2019 matched that of a gun recovered by authorities that was linked to the March 3 kidnappings, according to the federal complaint.

    Lugardo Moreno said he didn’t apply for a licence to export the firearm from the US to Mexico and knew it would be illegally exported, according to the complaint. Moreno told authorities that he received USD100 for the purchase of the guns.

     

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