McALLEN, Texas — A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment charging a South Texas man for promoting illegally manufactured and unregistered firearms suppressors destined for a Mexican drug cartel.
This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
On June 15, William Scotts Simms, 73, was indicted on three counts for aiding and abetting the try and illegally export a silencer, possession of 11 unregistered machine weapons and possession of an unregistered silencer. Simms was arrested Might 28 and was ordered into custody pending additional felony proceedings. Simms is predicted to seem earlier than a federal choose to face the extra expenses contained within the indictment.
In response to courtroom paperwork, Simms allegedly deliberate to promote illegally manufactured and unregistered firearm suppressors. The alleged recipients had been members of a Mexican drug cartel in search of to buy weapons to be illegally exported into Mexico. The fees additional allege Simms illegally manufactured 11 fully-automatic firearms to be offered for $10,000 every. Simms manufactured the machine weapons with none figuring out serial numbers. Such firearms are generally generally known as “ghost weapons” as a result of it’s tougher to hint their origins.
If convicted, Simms faces as much as 10 years in jail and as much as a $10,000 effective for every cost.
Assistant U.S. Lawyer Robert L. Guerra Jr., Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a proper accusation of felony conduct, not proof. A defendant is presumed harmless until convicted via due means of regulation.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of ICE accountable for investigating transnational crime and threats, particularly these felony organizations that exploit the worldwide infrastructure via which worldwide commerce, journey, and finance transfer. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 workers consists of greater than 7,100 particular brokers assigned to 220 cities all through the US, and 80 abroad areas in 53 international locations. HSI’s worldwide presence represents DHS’s largest investigative regulation enforcement presence overseas and one of many largest worldwide footprints in U.S. regulation enforcement.
