MCALLEN, TEXAS (AP) -- Three men have been sentenced to prison after being convicted of charges related to unlawful exportation of firearms to Mexico.
Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa sentenced 40-year-old Oscar Bravo-Hernandez of Falcon Heights to seven years in prison.
Thirty-four-year-old Luis Javier Lira Jr. and 35-year-old Jose Macedonio Castillo, both United States citizens living in Mexico, each received nearly four years followed by a two-year term of supervised release.
Bravo-Hernandez pleaded guilty to unlawful exportation of munitions. Lira and Castillo pleaded guilty to making false statements on federal firearms acquisition forms.
A news release states that agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives discovered that Lira and Castillo had purchased large numbers of firearms highly desired by Mexican cartels.
Hernandez admitted traveling to Mexico to obtain orders.
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