Guatemalan National Sentenced to Over Six Years for Firearms Trafficking Conspiracy in Maryland

A Guatemalan national, who was unlawfully present in the United States, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for his involvement in a firearms trafficking conspiracy and for possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. The sentence was handed down by Judge Matthew J. Maddox, who also imposed a one-year term of supervised release. Lester Ramos Perez, 29, is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his immigration status. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative aimed at combating criminal organizations.

The investigation into Ramos Perez began in July 2024 when special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) started looking into his suspected activities. Agents believed Ramos Perez was trafficking firearms from Alabama to Baltimore. By September 2024, he had taken up residence in Waldorf, Maryland. Through various investigative methods, law enforcement determined that Ramos Perez had been conspiring with others to traffic firearms. Evidence showed that Ramos Perez and an accomplice planned to sell firearms in both Alabama and Maryland, which was later confirmed through a controlled transaction with law enforcement.

During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that at least two of the firearms sold to law enforcement by Ramos Perez were stolen. Furthermore, at least two of these firearms were classified as machine guns. Ramos Perez was also made aware during the investigation that the individual to whom he was selling firearms had a criminal record and was purchasing them on behalf of another party. This knowledge confirmed that Ramos Perez was aware he was selling firearms to a prohibited person and that the buyer was not the ultimate owner or possessor of the weapons.

The Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) operates as a comprehensive government partnership with the objective of dismantling criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking networks within the United States and internationally. The HSTF leverages extensive interagency cooperation to direct the full capabilities of U.S. law enforcement toward identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full range of crimes perpetrated by these organizations. These criminal entities are frequently linked to violence and instability within the nation’s borders. A key focus of the HSTF’s work includes investigating and prosecuting individuals engaged in child trafficking and other crimes involving children. Additionally, the HSTF employs all available resources to prosecute and deport the most violent undocumented criminal aliens from the United States. The Baltimore division of the HSTF includes agents and officers from multiple agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE-HSI), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), the Maryland State Police (MSP), the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD). The prosecution in this case was led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended the ATF, HSI, BPD, and MCPD for their dedicated efforts in this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Y. Hagan is prosecuting the federal case.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland

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