WASHINGTON (AFP) — US authorities have nabbed 338 smugglers, and 1,441 firearms on the Mexican border in less than a year in an operation aimed at keeping the guns out of Mexico, a top US official said Wednesday.
"Since its (June 2008) inception, Operation Armas Cruzadas has resulted in the seizure of 1,441 weapons, 122,416 rounds of ammunition and arrested 338 individuals on criminal charges," John Torres, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security told lawmakers in a hearing.
The operation so far has led to 51 convictions, he said.
US control of illegal weapons smuggling is a key bone of contention between Mexico City and Washington.
In Mexico, more than 90 percent of guns used by drug traffickers come from the United States.
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