Gun Trafficker Pleads Guilty in Nevada

A man from Nevada has admitted to illegally buying 140 firearms for a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico, laundering money, and employing undocumented immigrants, as reported by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Luis Alberto Osorio, hailing from Elko, Nevada, confessed to several counts on Friday. This was confirmed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.

The charges he faced include:

• One instance of straw purchasing a firearm.
• One count of firearms trafficking.
• One charge of harboring undocumented individuals.
• One count related to conspiracy for money laundering.

Between April 1, 2020, and September 17, 2025, Osorio worked with co-defendants to procure firearms, magazines, and ammunition for members of the Mexican drug trafficking organization.

The firearms acquired by Osorio included several high-caliber long-range weapons.

Additionally, the Justice Department stated he acknowledged harboring individuals who were illegally in the U.S. for work at a mining operation in Nevada.

“The trafficking of military-style firearms and ammunition to Mexican drug trafficking organizations fuels violence, strengthens criminal networks, and threatens communities on both sides of the border,” remarked Jonathan Sherwin, Deputy Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Las Vegas.

David S. Olesky, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division, added, “In the world of organized crime and drug trafficking, guns and drugs are inextricably linked.”

Sigal Chata, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, stated, “Gun trafficking networks terrorize border communities and feed violent cartels that pump illegal drugs into our neighborhoods. By disrupting this supply chain and holding defendants accountable, we are directly disrupting the ability of these dangerous criminal organizations to operate.”

This investigation was led by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) task force, which included agents from the FBI, HSI, DEA, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Las Vegas Metro Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, and Nevada Gaming Control Board. The District of Nevada is overseeing this prosecution.

Osorio faces a statutory maximum sentence of 70 years imprisonment, with sentencing set for February 11, 2027.