Central Florida man accused of trafficking guns to Mexico

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Central Florida man is facing federal charges after investigators say he purchased dozens of guns meant to go to Mexico.

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According to a complaint filed in the Middle District of Florida, between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2023, 48-year-old Jose Medina of Leesburg bought multiple guns in Central Florida for other people, some of which were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as they tried to take them across the U.S. border into Mexico.

In one instance in May, investigators say CBP officers stopped a man attempting to enter Mexico at the Eagle Pass, Texas Port of Entry with 10 handguns, nine rifles, seven shotguns, 20 magazines, and an assortment of ammunition.

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Investigators say Medina had purchased one of those guns just nine days before CBP recovered them.

When questioned, the man with the guns said he was traveling from Orlando to San Diego, California de la Union, Guanajuato, Mexico. According to the Department of Justice, it’s an area of Mexico where cartels were fighting for control of the territory.

Months later, in November, CBP officers stopped another person at the same Port of Entry who was attempting to enter Mexico with five guns, two of which Medina had bought less than two weeks earlier.

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Investigators checked records from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and determined that Medina purchased 82 guns in 2023 for a total of $42,085, which exceeded his reported annual income.

According to the Department of Justice, investigators also learned that another gun bought by someone associated with Medina was recently recovered and electronically traced by Mexican law enforcement using the ATF’s e-Trace system.

Medina was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of knowingly making a materially false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm and one count of causing a Federal Firearm Licensee to maintain false information in its official records.

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If convicted, Medina faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the false statement charge and five years for the record-keeping charge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah Nowalk for the Middle District of Florida is prosecuting the case.

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