Siblings convicted of purchasing 7,000 rounds of ammunition for transport across the border

LAREDO, Texas – Three siblings have admitted to buying, transporting and concealing ammunition intended to be smuggled into Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Rolando Herrera, 26, pleaded guilty this morning in addition to another charge of conspiracy to smuggle ammunition with intent to promote a felony. His sisters, Ashley Herrera, 22, and Yamileth Herrera, 21, entered their guilty pleas Dec. 12, 2023. All are U.S. citizens and maintain residences in Laredo and in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Between May 16, 2023, through May 24, 2023, the siblings placed orders at a local sporting goods store for 7,000 rounds of 5.56-millimeter ammunition. Ashley placed the first order of 3,000 rounds which she and Rolando picked up at the store. Ashley later placed a second order in another person’s name for 3,000 rounds who picked up that ammunition and delivered it to the Herreras’ parents’ home. Yamileth later ordered and picked up 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

Rolando admitted he intended to smuggle the ammunition to persons in Mexico, provided the funds for all purchases and requested his sisters order the ammunition for him.

Ashley transported cartons of 6,000 rounds of ammunition to her parents’ home where she and Yamileth moved them into a bedroom where it remained concealed until Rolando would pick it up to smuggle to Mexico.

Law enforcement intercepted Yamileth Herrera who was in possession of 1,000 rounds she had just purchased.

Authorities collected a total of 7,000 rounds of ammunition from the Herrera sibling’s smuggling operation.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing in April. At that time, they each face up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Rolando also faces up to 15 years for the additional charge of conspiring to smuggle ammunition out of the United States to promote a felony.

All three have been permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Commerce and Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement conducted the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations and the Laredo Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Homero Ramirez is prosecuting the case as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. In May 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core. Integral to that effort was the reinvigoration of PSN, a two-decade old, evidence-based and community-oriented program focused on reducing violent crime. The updated PSN approach, outlined in the department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.