Man sentenced to nearly 6 years for buying 150+ guns in GA, trying to smuggle them to Mexico

A man will spend nearly six years in a federal prison after federal agents say he bought more than 150 guns in Georgia and smuggled some of them to Mexico.

According to a federal lawsuit, Edson Areguillin received detailed instructions from agents in Mexico and bought weapons on their behalf.

Areguillin would then allegedly cross the border into Mexico with the guns.

“It was indicating that he was operating as a straw buyer, meaning he would buy guns on behalf of other people,” Attorney Chris Timmons said. “What would happen first, he would get a wire transfer from Mexico to here in the United States. And he would take that money and use it to buy firearms and keep a portion of it. And then he would drive those guns down to Mexico, where they were used in crimes.”

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Timmons is a former prosecutor and now a partner at the law firm Knowles, Gallant and Timmons.

According to the lawsuit, one weapon bought from a gun shop in Cherokee County was later recovered in Mexico after it was used in a shootout that left eight people dead and four others injured.

This is not an isolated incident.

Earlier this month, Channel 2 Action News reported how members of the ATF seized nearly a quarter million dollars’ worth of guns that were meant to be illegally smuggled into Mexico.

The U.S. attorney says the man here was mainly directed to buy 9 mm pistols and AR-style weapons, and would make thousands of dollars with each smuggling trip.