Arizona man sentenced to prison for smuggling around 50 firearms to Mexico

PHOENIX — An Arizona man was recently sentenced to five years in prison for smuggling almost 50 firearms from the United States to Mexico.

Victor Coronado Jr. of Tucson, 40, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle goods out of the country, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said last week.

Prosecutors said he was the leader of a firearm smuggling conspiracy from October 2019 to July 2020.

Coronado attempted to smuggle 49 assault rifles and high-capacity semi-automatic pistols into Mexico.

He and his co-conspirators misled firearms dealers they bought the weapons for and gave money to other to buy the firearms, prosecutors said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with help from Homeland Security Investigations and United States Customs and Border Protection, investigated the case.