06-03-2025
Guns from Wisconsin, elsewhere smuggled to Mexico; fugitive arrested
The Brief
A man accused of smuggling guns from Wisconsin and other states to a Mexican cartel has been arrested.
The 44-year-old fugitive had been on the run for years, according to prosecutors.
If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine.
MILWAUKEE - A fugitive accused of smuggling guns from Wisconsin and other states to a Mexican cartel has been arrested after years on the run, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.
The backstory
Roland Munoz, 44, was charged with five other people in 2021. A 12-count federal indictment was the result of a years-long investigation called "Operation Ripsaw."
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Local perspective
According to court filings, Munoz led a conspiracy to smuggle high-powered weapons into Mexico by recruiting straw purchasers of guns in Wisconsin and other states. He is also accused of organizing couriers to transport those guns and money across the nation, and arranging for smugglers to take the guns across the border in Texas and provide them to a cartel in Mexico.
The conspirators purchased and attempted to smuggle over 25 guns, according to federal prosecutors. Court records said many of those guns were later recovered in Mexico, including a .50 caliber rifle which was recovered in December 2020 after Mexican law enforcement authorities engaged a group of armed members of Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, a Mexican transnational criminal organization.
What's next
If convicted, Munoz faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine.
Munoz's arrest was made in coordination with officials in Mexico and is the result of collaboration between the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations.
The Source
Information in this report is from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
