A 24-year-old man from Reynosa, Mexico, will spend more than three years in federal prison after trying to smuggle firearms into Mexico.
Guadalupe Mendiola-Urbina pleaded guilty March 21, 2023, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani announced in a news release Monday.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane in McAllen, Texas, sentenced Mendiola-Urbina to three years and two months in prison. Since he is not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to be deported after he completes his sentence.
On May 18, 2022, Mendiola-Urbina was in a vehicle as he entered the United States through the Hidalgo Port of Entry in Hidalgo, Texas, where authorities found he had $4,000. That same day, he tried to leave the United States and enter Mexico through the port in the same vehicle.
However, inspectors found seven Glock pistols and eight firearm magazines hidden in his vehicle, the news release said. Authorities say Mendiola-Urbina admitted hiding the firearms and magazines in the vehicle to take them into Mexico.
Mendiola-Urbina will remain in custody until he is transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, which will be determined later.
Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection conducted the joint investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cahal P. McColgan prosecuted the case.
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