Texas man convicted of trafficking parts for 5,700 rifles to Mexico

A federal jury in the United States has found Chandler Britain Bradford guilty of participating in an illegal operation to smuggle components used to manufacture approximately 5,700 semiautomatic rifles into Mexico. Bradford, a 37-year-old resident of New Braunfels, Texas, faces charges including conspiracy to smuggle goods from the U.S., conspiracy to transfer firearms intended for the commission of a felony, and money laundering.

According to court documents, Bradford earned over $3.5 million through the scheme. He provided unlicensed parts, tools, and technical advice to a contact in Monterrey, Nuevo León, using warehouses in Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley to store components before shipment. Federal prosecutor Justin R. Simmons stated that Bradford was aware the weapons would end up in the hands of drug trafficking organizations to control territories and drug smuggling routes.

Other individuals linked to the case have already received prison sentences, including José Francisco García-Cervantes and Ricardo Rodríguez-Sotelo. Two other defendants, Troy Vernon Erbe and Jesús Guzmán-Delgado, have pleaded guilty, while authorities continue to search for two fugitives.