An illegal immigrant and his son have been arrested for trafficking 70 firearms in Oklahoma.
Following an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations alongside federal and state law enforcement partners, a criminal illegal alien and his son have been charged with illegally trafficking 75 firearms and ammunition.
Andres Avila, a 48-year-old criminal illegal alien from Mexico, and his son, Anthony Avila, a 22-year-old Houston resident, were caught allegedly trafficking the firearms and ammunition that they purchased at area gun shows. Andres is also charged with being an alien who is in the U.S. illegally and in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The investigation that uncovered the scheme was conducted by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Dallas, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
“Oftentimes, illegally trafficked firearms end up in the hands of the drug cartels, terrorists, foreign adversaries, or other bad actors,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard. “By working alongside our partners to uncover this scheme and seize these firearms, we’ve prevented a large cache of deadly weapons from potentially being used to sow chaos or fuel other illicit criminal activity or acts of violence.”
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The investigation began after special agents witnessed two individuals, later identified as Andres Avila and Anthony Avila (“Andres” and “Anthony”), allegedly engaging in activities consistent with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking. Andres and Anthony were seen wearing backpacks and working together to purchase firearms. When their backpacks were full, it’s alleged that they emptied their bags into large totes kept beneath a specific vendor’s table. Court documents show that they paid cash to purchase firearms from private sellers in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection.
After making several purchases and spending more than six hours at the gun show, agents observed Andres and Anthony leaving in a vehicle with a Texas license plate. When law enforcement conducted a traffic stop, they found large quantities of bulk ammunition marked in the vehicle, consistent with ammo purchased at the gun show. A subsequent records check revealed that Andres is in the United States illegally and prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms.
Agents interviewed the vendors sitting at the booth where the guns were stored in totes. They explained that Andres is not legally inside the United States and discovered that there were more than 75 firearms in the totes. Apparently, the vendors met Andres and Anthony through a Texas pawn shop and explained they would pay cash to purchase firearm magazines.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Dowdell is prosecuting the case.
The arrests follow 2 million illegal immigrants either self-deporting or being deported under the Trump administration.
YOU’RE GOING HO HO HOME. pic.twitter.com/qg2JrwFhzA
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 5, 2025
America has been invaded by criminals and predators.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 29, 2025
We need YOU to get them out. https://t.co/tqZ8y0E36q pic.twitter.com/7CVqGG6uLy
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