Jabin Bogan: Texas truck driver jailed in Mexico for smuggling 268,000 rounds of military ammunition
Thousands of guns are destroyed in Ciudad Juarez, in Mexico’s Chihuahua state, on Feb. 16.
Mexican authorities have charged Texas truck driver Jabin Bogan, 27, with smuggling military ammunition after he was caught with 268,000 rounds in his truck at a border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, according to the Associated Press. Bogan has been in Villa Aldama federal prison in the state of Veracruz for the past two weeks and could face up to 35 years in jail. He was trying to cross the border from El Paso, Texas, when Mexican customs inspectors found the ammo.
Bogan's boss, Dennis Mekenye of Demco Express, said Bogan got lost while taking the load to Phoenix, reported Fox News. He made a wrong turn and ended up in Mexico.
"It was an honest mistake," Mekenye told Fox News. "He missed an exit and found himself in Mexico with those ammo and bullets."
More from GlobalPost: Mexico seized more than 68,000 US guns in the past five years
Authorities in Mexico worried the ammunition was headed to the assault rifles of drug cartels, according to Dallas's WFAA. Former US Attorney Richard Roper said gunrunners are a big concern in Mexico.
"Mexico is very, very sensitive about the issues of guns traveling south into Mexico," Roper said to WFAA. "It's a completely different system, and that is one of the issues this truck driver will face."
According to the AP, El Paso-based lawyer Carlos Spector has been hired to represent Bogan and he will hire another attorney in Mexico.
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