2 More Charged in Mexican Firearms Smuggling Scheme

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Two more people have been charged in a case involving a former drug agent who is accused with helping to smuggle firearms to drug cartels in Mexico.

According to court documents, Former Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Agent Frank Reyes was heading up a firearms smuggling operation in Oklahoma, and authorities said he would find other people to help buy the guns. Jorge Alexis Blanco from Stillwater was allegedly one of those people.

Reyes and Blanco were apparently business partners and opened a hookah lounge together in Stillwater. Investigators said this was where several people were recruited to help Reyes buy guns, including Blanco who purchased the guns on four different occasions. Blanco allegedly once even got his girlfriend involved.

Reyes would then allegedly pay Blanco for the guns, but the buck didn't stop with Reyes. Authorities said he would then give the firearms to Gregorio Morales-Martinez, an illegal alien living in the Dallas area.

Morales-Martinez would then remove the serial numbers, making the firearms harder to trace, and arranged for the guns to be smuggled across the border to Mexico.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging both Blanco and Morales-Martinez with conspiracy to illegally purchase 43 firearms.

Reyes was back in court last month and waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms said they are dedicating more resources to combat gun running in Oklahoma and across the nation.

More:

• Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Agent Arrested for Alleged Firearms Sales to Mexican Cartels
• Read the federal complaint against Reyes
• Investigators Say They've Been Monitoring Former OBN Agent for Awhile
• Texas Man 2nd Arrested in Mexican Firearms Smuggling Scheme
• OBN Agent Accused in Gun Smuggling Scheme Makes Court Appearance