PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Thursday that a State Grand Jury has indicted 20 defendants accused of participating in a large-scale firearms trafficking conspiracy that funneled hundreds of weapons from Arizona to drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.
According to the indictment, the alleged scheme operated between May 2024 and February 2025, with organizers Luis Castaneda, Victor Garcia, and Aaron Villescaz-Chavira coordinating straw purchasers and funding illegal firearm acquisitions from federally licensed dealers.
Prosecutors say the defendants, including Michelle Iniguez, Hakeem Sharp, Sedona Rice, Marianne Rice, and Selena Bustillos, falsified ATF forms to hide the true buyers of the weapons, which were later smuggled into Mexico.
Investigators estimate that the trafficking network obtained approximately 334 firearms during the conspiracy. Tracing data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) revealed that many of the weapons have since been recovered in Mexico, where they were allegedly used in criminal activity.
The defendants face multiple felony charges, including Misconduct Involving Weapons and related offenses under Arizona law.
The case was jointly investigated by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Special Investigations Section, the ATF, and the Phoenix Police Department Gun Squad.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
A copy of the full indictment is available on the Arizona Attorney General’s Office website.
