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Mexican woman accused of smuggling 13,000 rounds [into Mexico]
KRISTV.com ^
| 08/10/06
Posted on 08/10/2006 9:09:23 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
McALLEN, Texas -- A 42-year-old Mexican woman is accused of trying to smuggle 13,000 rounds of ammunition into Mexico, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Balbina Morales-Oscoy, of Posa Rica, Veracruz, was arrested at the Pharr international bridge Aug. 4 after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they found 19 boxes of .22-caliber ammunition and about 2,500 rounds of .38 Super ammunition concealed in soft drink boxes in the vehicle she was driving.
She was charged with conspiracy to export defense articles, a felony.
A federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation began Aug. 2, after ICE agents received information from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding a vehicle with Mexican plates suspected of being used to export ammunition.
ICE agents said they watched Morales-Oscoy as she drove to various locations and bought ammunition and groceries, then stopped at a residence and unloaded and reloaded groceries into a minivan.
CBP officers at the international bridge found the ammunition and detained her. She has been in federal custody pending a detention hearing Thursday.
If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Mexico; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: mcallen; mexico
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"She was charged with conspiracy to export defense articles,...."
To: SwinneySwitch
Why is this illegal?............
2
posted on
08/10/2006 9:11:23 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Is Castro dead yet?........)
To: SwinneySwitch
To: SwinneySwitch
we need a pic! if she's Salma Hayek material, she's free to go!
4
posted on
08/10/2006 9:13:24 AM PDT
by
isom35
To: SwinneySwitch
13,000 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition..That is about one month of weekend plinking for many normal US citizens or about one hour of squirrel hunting.
To: SwinneySwitch
The selective application of the laws of the United States is pure hypocrisy...uh, how about prosecuting those who ILLEGALY ENTER into the United States?....no they are expempt from obeying THOSE LAWS.
Mexicans are exempt from laws that interfere with getting their votes and campaign contributions...
6
posted on
08/10/2006 9:14:46 AM PDT
by
EagleUSA
To: SwinneySwitch
. . . after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they found 19 boxes of .22-caliber ammunition and about 2,500 rounds of .38 Super ammunition concealed in soft drink boxes in the vehicle she was driving. I know this is more of a "Friday"-type comment, but I find this attractive, in a way.
7
posted on
08/10/2006 9:15:07 AM PDT
by
1rudeboy
To: vetvetdoug
This just doesn't set well with me. She LEGALLY purchased the ammo. It legally was in her posession. Taking her own leagl personal property out of the country should not be a crime. And with whom did she conspire? One person cannot conspire.........
8
posted on
08/10/2006 9:16:45 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Is Castro dead yet?........)
To: vetvetdoug
Actually 10,500 rounds of .22 cal.
The rest was .38 cal, fwiw.
9
posted on
08/10/2006 9:17:16 AM PDT
by
subterfuge
(If Liberals hated terrorists like they hate Bush the war would be over by now)
To: 1rudeboy
Idiots!!!
Fine her $250,000? So what? Have you ever attempted to collect on a judgement on an immigrant or illegal alien? Good luck.
10
posted on
08/10/2006 9:18:27 AM PDT
by
Concho
(IRS--Americas real terrorist organization.)
To: Red Badger
Why is this illegal?............
It's interesting timing - with some Mexicans tired of the current government/system, perhaps she was working/carrying for somebody who wants to shake things up. Their whole political system is corrupt, and maybe people are getting tired of it.
Or, maybe she is going to become the new police chief of Juarez and wanted to protect herself, they seem to have a lifespan measured in weeks, if not days or hours...
To: Red Badger
Why is this illegal?............ Well, first whomever sold the ammunition committed a felony by selling to an "un-documented" person. No FOID Card. Second, ammunition bought without a FOID is a crime. Third, transporting across international boundries without declaration, (see smuggling) is always a crime...especially when gunpowder is involved.
Finally, does anyone not believe this was intended to re-supply drug cartel muscle? Please.
I'm sure others can come up with about four or five more crimes committed here.
Good on our border security....Way to go guys!
12
posted on
08/10/2006 9:20:49 AM PDT
by
MarketR
(Anyone else want to negotiate?" - Corbin Dallas)
To: SwinneySwitch
ICE can find 'em leaving, but are blind to those coming this direction.
13
posted on
08/10/2006 9:21:20 AM PDT
by
mtbopfuyn
(I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
To: SwinneySwitch
Ok, I can understand if she was caught IMPORTING... I can understand if she was trying to export ORDANANCE, or maybe even arms.... but ammunition?
Why is this a crime and why a felony?
To: SwinneySwitch
Well, if the rounds were .223 or 5.56, then I would say.. yeah we may have a case.. But .22 and .38? Please....
15
posted on
08/10/2006 9:22:04 AM PDT
by
Zavien Doombringer
(Mr. Franklin, what form of customes did you create in Tiajunna? A beeber, Madam, if you can stune it)
To: vetvetdoug
13,000 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition..
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said they found 19 boxes of .22-caliber ammunition and about 2,500 rounds of .38 Super ammunition concealed
19 @ 500 gives 9500 + 2500 =12000 Did she admit to another 1000 that they didn't find?
16
posted on
08/10/2006 9:22:50 AM PDT
by
Oztrich Boy
(Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain)
To: Red Badger
Why is this illegal?............It is illegal to bring guns or ammunition into Mexico. It violates Mexican laws. More than one American has been put in Mexican jails just for having one spent cartridge in their car.
To: gubamyster
To: Red Badger
Why is this illegal?
Mission creep. "Defense articles" under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) were data. The "spy" from China was prosecuted for conspiracy to export defense articles...a CD with nuclear engineering data.
Mission creep has expanded "defense articles" to cover just about anything.
.
19
posted on
08/10/2006 9:25:39 AM PDT
by
mugs99
(Don't take life too seriously, you won't get out alive.)
To: SwinneySwitch
"She was charged with conspiracy to export defense articles,...."Maybe she should've sent them the right way......One at a time, pointy end first.
20
posted on
08/10/2006 9:25:51 AM PDT
by
P8riot
("You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone." - Al Capone)
To: taxcontrol
Why is this a crime and why a felony? Isn't it a violation of export laws?
To: Oztrich Boy
Wal*Mart often sells .22 cal ammunition loose-packed in a small box containing 550 rounds ... 19 * 550 + 2500 = 12950 ... awfully close to 13000.
22
posted on
08/10/2006 9:26:43 AM PDT
by
ArrogantBustard
(Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
To: MarketR
My first thought that she is a Code Pinko groupie of Obragore.
23
posted on
08/10/2006 9:28:20 AM PDT
by
Killborn
(Pres. Bush isn't Pres. Reagan. Then again, Pres. Regan isn't Pres. Washington. God bless them all.)
To: sockmonkey
Is it considered exporting it you are both, the shipper and receiver? The article doesn't mention of anyone actually receiving the ammunition. It does mention that the woman purchased the ammo and was going home with it.
I dunno, not familiar with the law... just seems wierd.
24
posted on
08/10/2006 9:28:39 AM PDT
by
Zavien Doombringer
(Mr. Franklin, what form of customes did you create in Tiajunna? A beeber, Madam, if you can stune it)
To: SwinneySwitch
26 bricks of .22 LR? I'm thinking I have that much stashed in the basement. The .38 Super is a little curious. It's a very popular competition caliber but a little light (and loud) for nefarious purposes. My guess is that this stuff was for sale and that this was a genuine smuggler who had a specific customer in mind.
To: Red Badger
Taking her own legal personal property out of the country should not be a crime. Out of the country? That's nothing. Try taking your legally-owned personal property into New York City or Chicago. You'd be charged just the same.
26
posted on
08/10/2006 9:30:02 AM PDT
by
Drew68
To: MarketR
No FOID Card. Second, ammunition bought without a FOID is a crimeNo such thing as FOID card in the free states. You must be from one of the nasty little police states in the northeast or the nastly little corrupt dictatorship called Illinois.
27
posted on
08/10/2006 9:30:37 AM PDT
by
from occupied ga
(Your most dangerous enemy is your own government)
To: Oztrich Boy
19 @ 500 gives 9500 + 2500 =12000 Did she admit to another 1000 that they didn't find?Actually you can buy 22 in 550 round boxes. I go through two of them at a time.
So 19x550 = 10450 + 2500 = 12950. Close enough for gov't work.
28
posted on
08/10/2006 9:30:48 AM PDT
by
P8riot
("You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone." - Al Capone)
To: vetvetdoug
you can shoot that many rounds on refried beans....
To: ArrogantBustard
Beat me by 4 minutes. Guess that's what I get for taking a phone call while I'm posting.
30
posted on
08/10/2006 9:33:40 AM PDT
by
P8riot
("You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone." - Al Capone)
To: mtbopfuyn
ICE can find 'em leaving, but are blind to those coming this direction.Freakin' amazing isn't it?
31
posted on
08/10/2006 9:35:22 AM PDT
by
P8riot
("You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone." - Al Capone)
To: SwinneySwitch
Great we can stop .22 ammo from going to Mexico but we can't stop ... Oh never mind.
To: vetvetdoug
13,000 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition.. That is about one month of weekend plinking for many normal US citizens or about one hour of squirrel hunting.
13,000 rounds an hour squirrel hunting? Maybe it would be cheaper to call in some airburst artillery and just pick the squirrel bits off the ground when the fire mission is done.
33
posted on
08/10/2006 9:42:03 AM PDT
by
KarlInOhio
(Loose lips sink ships - and the New York Times really doesn't have a problem with sinking ships.)
To: MarketR
"Finally, does anyone not believe this was intended to re-supply drug cartel muscle? Please."
Drug cartel goons would be laughed out of town were they seen sporting .22 pistols. Last time I was in mexico, I saw that local law enforcement was carrying HK-91 battle rifles. Shooting a .22 at one of those guys would be like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Neither .22 or 38 super is the weapon of choice in such circles. Not even close.
PS - I have bought more ammo than that. Don't even know what a FOID card is.
34
posted on
08/10/2006 9:44:31 AM PDT
by
FreeInWV
To: LongElegantLegs; radar101; RamingtonStall; engrpat; HamiltonFan; Draco; TexasCajun; ...
35
posted on
08/10/2006 9:45:44 AM PDT
by
SwinneySwitch
(Terroristas-beyond your expectations!)
To: Billthedrill
.38 Super is (used to be?) fairly popular in Mexico, where 9mm Para and .45 ACP are banned as "military calibers".
36
posted on
08/10/2006 9:45:59 AM PDT
by
ArrogantBustard
(Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
To: vetvetdoug
Where do you hunt?? Knob Creek??
37
posted on
08/10/2006 9:46:43 AM PDT
by
FreeInWV
To: Red Badger
Taking her own leagl personal property out of the country should not be a crime
Cool. I own a blueprint of the old Fat Man nuclear bomb that we dropped on Nagasaki (hangs on the wall in my shop). I suppose you'll have no complaints if I take it with me on my vacation to Central America next summer.
/sarc (obviously)
The US has the right to regulate the exportation of any information or material that can be used against us either criminally or militarily. This means that my blueprint shouldn't be taken outside of the country, and neither should these 13,000 rounds of ammunition. Since most firearms in Mexico are owned either by drug smugglers (MS13) or communist rebels (Chiapas), the US has a very real interest in stopping the illicit exportation of ammunition to that country.
To: MarketR
You did not answer the question, Why is this illegal?.......
39
posted on
08/10/2006 9:49:09 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Is Castro dead yet?........)
To: FreeInWV
Where do you hunt?? Knob Creek??
I saw that place on Mail Call. The night time shooting looked pretty cool. Tracer rounds all over the place.
40
posted on
08/10/2006 9:49:44 AM PDT
by
dc27
To: DumpsterDiver
That's Mexico. They can do whatever they want. She was arrested on US soil per our laws................
41
posted on
08/10/2006 9:53:08 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Is Castro dead yet?........)
To: FreeInWV
Neither .22 or 38 super is the weapon of choice in such circles.
Two words: Assassination squads. Do you have any idea how many people are assassinated in cities like Neuvo Laredo and Ciudad Juarez every year by the drug gangs? Among assassins, the .22 is a favored round because it is quite lethal at point blank range, and it's easy to silence to keep from attracting attention. Since most of the murdered are killed at a range of less than three feet, they don't NEED powerful rounds for that sort of work.
To: MarketR
No FOID Card. Second, ammunition bought without a FOID is a crime Maybe in the communist pesthole you live in. We don't have FOIDs here in Texas and I will break that law with impunity if it ever comes around.
43
posted on
08/10/2006 9:55:28 AM PDT
by
Centurion2000
(Islam is a subsingularity memetic perversion : (http://www.orionsarm.com/topics/perversities.html))
To: FreeInWV
Don't even know what a FOID card is.part of the papers you have to have for the goose stepping goons in the blue states (Halt show papers!) We don't have that foolishness in the south.
44
posted on
08/10/2006 9:58:02 AM PDT
by
from occupied ga
(Your most dangerous enemy is your own government)
To: ArrogantBustard
Ah, thank you - I was curious. It's a nice caliber, actually, low recoil in the 1911 frame and flat-shooting. Big IPSC caliber because you can make major with it and the muzzle stays on target. My brother built one for me and the dang thing sounds like a cannon. Sweet shooter...
To: Billthedrill
The .38 Super is a little curious.
The .38 Super is the most popular cartridge in Mexico...always has been. The .22 is the only legal rifle in Mexico. .30 caliber rifles are military weapons under Mexican law. In Mexico, people use .22s, shotguns and .38 revolvers. The drug gangs use more potent firepower.
.
46
posted on
08/10/2006 10:04:17 AM PDT
by
mugs99
(Don't take life too seriously, you won't get out alive.)
To: sockmonkey
You missed the point of the question. Perhaps a better way would be to ask it this way.
"Why is exporting ammunition against the law?"
To: mugs99
And thank you too. You learn all sorts of stuff on FR.
To: FreeInWV
Drug cartel goons would be laughed out of town were they seen sporting .22 pistols. Last time I was in mexico, I saw that local law enforcement was carrying HK-91 battle rifles. Shooting a .22 at one of those guys would be like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Neither .22 or 38 super is the weapon of choice in such circles. Not even close. Nowhere in this article does this state that it was .22 cal. pistol or for that matter .22 cal rimfire LR ammunition. I thought it may be the .22 cal NATO round assault rifle ammo. .38 cal. pistol ammo is what it is.
PS - I have bought more ammo than that. Don't even know what a FOID card is.
Is there no identification necessary to purchase ammo in WV? Illinois has a FOID...Firearm Owners Identification card. Purchase of ammo without it is illegal, as is selling to someone without it.
49
posted on
08/10/2006 10:06:49 AM PDT
by
MarketR
(Anyone else want to negotiate?" - Corbin Dallas)
To: MarketR
FOID card???? in Texas???? RIGHT! LOL ;-0
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