Federal prosecutors in Arizona are crediting international cooperation for the arrest this month of an alleged major gun-trafficker in Sonora by Mexican authorities.
Court records in a related U.S. case accuse five people of taking part in a firearm-smuggling mission that originated in Phoenix last year.
The U.S. Attorney for Arizona Gary Restaino told KJZZ News last year that he wanted to build on a foundation of working with Mexican prosecutors to take down crime bosses.
“Talking about the similarities in cases and working on the parallel ends of the organization really is a key thing,” said Restaino.
In a U.S case unsealed in December, the indictment for smuggling conspiracy names four of the five accused.
One has the same last name as Michel Bacasegua-Barriga, the alleged leader of a gun trafficking ring arrested in Mexico.
It is unclear if he is the anonymous defendant here.
