Douglas-area CBP officers intercept more than 6,000 AK-47 rounds in sedan

A 56-year-old man faces federal charges after Douglas-area U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered more than 6,000 rounds of rifle ammunition stashed in his car last week. 

Jose Herrera Daniel, a resident of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, was arrested on May 13 after he allegedly attempted to drive a red Dodge Avenger through the border crossing in the Southern Arizona city. As part of “outbound operations,” a CBP officer and his dog searched the vehicle and the dog “alerted” to the smell of the ammunition, according to court records. 

CBP officers ran the sedan through a X-ray machine known as a Z-portal, which revealed “anomalies in the driver and passenger side rocker panels of the vehicle,” according to a federal complaint. CBP officers tore into vehicle and found 6,399 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, typically used by criminal organizations for AK-47-style rifles, stuffed into plastic bags. 

Two officials with Homeland Security Investigations, a part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, interviewed Daniel who allegedly admitted he would be paid $300 for smuggling 500 rounds of ammunition into Agua Prieta, court records said.

CBP and HSI investigated the case, and the Tucson office of the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Arizona is handling the prosecution, Justice Department officials said.