SAN ANTONIO – The Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced guilty verdicts for Chandler Britain Bradford, a New Braunfels man who was charged with smuggling thousands of firearms and firearm parts from the United States to Mexico.
According to U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons, Bradford was found guilty on 7 counts after a weeklong trial:
- four counts of aiding and abetting the smuggling of goods from the United States
- one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States
- one count of conspiracy to transfer firearms for use in a felony
- one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering
It is unclear when Bradford will be sentenced. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
A previous news release states Bradford received more than $3.5 million in the scheme.
“Like the cartels, he (Bradford) only cared about the millions of dollars he was making,” Simmons said.
The DOJ said the scheme Simmons participated in involved “dead drops” at various storage units in Laredo and McAllen, keeping handwritten logs of the sale of gun parts and wire transfers from shell companies in Mexico.
“All in all, the parts that he (Bradford) sold were enough to build out 5,700 AR-15 rifles,” Simmons said.
In one example, prosecutors said Bradford took boxes full of gun parts to Laredo, where drivers from his main “Mexican buyer” would then drive across the U.S.-Mexico border and take the boxes.
“Cases of this magnitude are not solved by one agency,” ATF Houston Field Division assistant special agent in charge Robert Topper said. “They require collaborating, information sharing and a shared commitment to keeping communities safe.”
Simmons said two suspects remain at large in connection with Bradford’s case: Julio Cesar Gomez-Mendoza and Octavio Javier Quiroga-Trevino.
Anyone with information on the suspects’ whereabouts is asked to call ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS or atftips@atf.gov.
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