A 67-year-old man from Guadalajara, Mexico, is staring down the barrel of up to 10 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to gun-running, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani's office announced. Jose De Jesus Pena Dieguez was nabbed by authorities on January 11 when he tried to sneak an arsenal of 16 firearms, over 30 magazines, parts and 800 rounds of ammunition across the border encased in a Nissan Xterra's modified roof rack, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas.

Caught at the Progreso Port of Entry, inspection officers became suspicious after spotting tampered screws that led to the discovery of the illegal payload, an incident that highlights the ongoing battle against arms trafficking. “Dieguez potentially put lives at risk for his own personal gain - intending to profit by selling firearms illegally smuggled out of the United States,” Hamdani emphasized, pointing out the threat posed not just stateside but also to innocents in Mexico he told reporters this callous act of smuggling can have far-reaching, tragic consequences.

The plea admitted by Dieguez acknowledges his plans to unlawfully export the deadly goods to Mexico, a grave offense against both U.S. and Mexican law. Scheduled for sentencing on June 11 by U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane, Dieguez's conviction could slam him with a decade behind bars and a monetary blow up to $250,000.

Behind this bust are the combined efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Customs and Border Protection whose joint investigation brought Dieguez to justice, putting a temporary plug in the illegal flow of weapons Assistant U.S. Attorney Cahal P. McColgan is prosecuting, part of a larger push by the Justice Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods, an established yet revitalized crusade championed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland against violent crime in America.