TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A Tucson man has been sentenced to prison for weapon smuggling, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona.
Last week, 31-year-old Ruben Arnulfo Chavarin was sentenced to more than six years in prison and fined over $10,000 for smuggling firearms and ammunition from the U.S. into Mexico.
Between Dec. 2010 and Feb. 2011, Chavarin had purchased eight firearms and more than 21,000 rounds of ammo, all on fourteen separate times, according to the District of Arizona. Chavarin then administered the firearms and approximately 12,525 rounds of ammo to co-conspirators to be smuggled into Mexico.
On Feb. 11, 2011, he solely attempted to smuggle approximately 8,700 rounds of ammo into Mexico, in which he was arrested at the Port of Entry in Douglas, according to the District of Arizona. Prior to Chavarin's arrest, he had made another purchase of sixteen AK-47 rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammo that were planned to be smuggled into Mexico as well.
Chavarin fled to Mexico while under indictment.
Before his arrest in 2020, Chavarin was a fugitive for nine years.
The case was conducted by the ATF.
