Thousands of weapons mailed from Florida to South America seized in crackdown on illegal gun trade in Triple Frontier zone
- Assault rifles and explosives were being shipped from the Sunshine State to be sold on the black market in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, officials say
Thousands of assault-style guns and explosives shipped through the mail from South Florida to South America were seized this week in a law enforcement crackdown on arms traffickers who rake in millions on the black market while supplying criminal gangs, federal authorities said Friday.
Some of the firearms were confiscated in South Florida in the arrests of high-level smugglers accused of illegally exporting weapons parts in packages that are reassembled in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, a notorious hub known as the Tri-Border Area, or Triple Frontier, according to officials with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami.
The vast majority of the weapons smuggled out of South Florida – including more than 2,500 AR-15 rifles, handguns and grenades – were confiscated in Argentina in that country’s largest illegal firearms haul ever, US officials said during a news conference at HSI’s office in Doral.
About 50 law enforcement operations were carried out on Wednesday in Florida, Argentina and Brazil by authorities, who have been collaborating in the weapons-smuggling crackdown, dubbed Operation Patagonia Express. It was launched a year ago after a mislabelled package of weapon parts was intercepted by US authorities, officials said.
The high-powered weapons and explosives were intended for a network of arms traffickers in Argentina who distribute them to criminal gangs in neighbouring Brazil and Paraguay. According to published reports in South America, the semi-automatic rifle parts cost about US$1,500 but when assembled sell for as much as US$12,000 in Paraguay and US$20,000 in Brazil.
