Twenty-four convicted in network that diverted guns and ammunition to Chile

A Mendoza federal court has convicted 24 people who admitted taking part in a network that moved guns and ammunition from Argentina into Chile.

The defendants accepted responsibility in an abbreviated trial. The Federal Oral Court No. 2 in Mendoza approved an agreement between prosecutors and defense lawyers and imposed sentences of up to six years for criminal association, attempted aggravated smuggling, illegal possession of firearms and drug-related offenses.

The case exposed a logistics chain that included organizers, coordinators, people who stored and transported weapons, truck drivers and individuals who received money from Chile. Two alleged leaders have so far evaded police efforts to locate them.

Investigators said the operation combined pistols smuggled from Brazil with weapons and ammunition purchased legally in Argentina using legitimate-user permits. The guns were then moved across the border in trucks carrying declared merchandise, with weapons hidden inside the cabs. Traffickers also used long-distance buses to reach Mendoza.

One seizure occurred in December 2023, when Argentine Gendarmerie officers stopped a bus traveling from Tucumán to Mendoza. Two Chilean passengers with criminal records in Chile were allegedly carrying eight 9 mm pistols and 13 magazines. One had five pistols attached to his body, while the other concealed additional weapons.