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A U.S. man was arrested Friday following a traffic stop in which police found more than 400 rounds of .50-caliber ammunition concealed under the backseat of his vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
Hugo Alberto Reyes Sanchez Jr., who was born in 1997, was charged with knowingly and willfully attempting to export 401 rounds of .50-cal. linked and unlinked armor-piercing ammunition.
According to the complaint, at approximately 7:47 p.m., a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper conducted a traffic stop on a 2009 black Mazda SUV for a traffic violation.
Reyes was identified as the passenger of the vehicle.
The trooper was given permission to search the vehicle and found 401 rounds of .50-cal. linked and unlinked armor-piercing ammunition hidden under the backseat and in the rear of the floorboard area.
Reyes then gave law enforcement consent to search a warehouse in McAllen where an additional 400 rounds of .50-caliber armor-piercing ammunition and 660 rounds of 7.62-by-39 mm ammunition were found.
Reyes and all the ammunition were taken to the Homeland Security Investigations McAllen Office for an interview.
There, Reyes said he intended to smuggle all the ammunition into Mexico.
He also admitted he knew he needed an export license to transport ammunition, which he didn’t have, and knew it was illegal to smuggle ammunition from the U.S. into Mexico.
Reyes stated he was paid $200 every time he smuggled ammunition and said he had smuggled 300 rounds of .50-cal. ammunition that same day around 2:30 p.m.
He said he had been smuggling ammunition from the U.S. into Mexico for about two years, according to the complaint.
Reyes is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano for a preliminary examination and detention hearing Thursday morning.
