SELLS, Ariz. — Edwin Alexey Gamboa, 20, of Phoenix, was indicted June 11 by a federal grand jury in Phoenix for illegal receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment; possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations investigated the Southern Arizona activity.
As alleged in the complaint and indictment, on the morning of June 2, officers from the Phoenix Police Department responded to a report of a vehicle partially blocking a city street. The officers observed a sleeping Gamboa and two firearms in the center console, and subsequently found approximately 409 counterfeit oxycodone tablets, which the Phoenix Crime Lab positively identified as fentanyl. Officers also found almost $2,000 in cash in Gamboa’s pocket. One of the firearms found in the vehicle, a Glock 19X 9mm pistol, had a machine gun conversion device affixed to it which, when test-fired, operated as a machine gun.
The indictment further alleges that Gamboa was on pretrial release for an earlier indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Tucson, in which Gamboa was charged with smuggling goods from the United States. As alleged in the complaint and indictment in that case, on Feb. 4, Gamboa attempted to smuggle one empty Glock handgun magazine and 10 empty AK-47 style rifle magazines out of the United States and into Mexico via the Lukeville Port of Entry.
Convictions for the offenses alleged in the indictments carry the following penalties and fines:
- Illegal receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
- Possession with intent to distribute fentanyl carries a punishment of between five and 40 years in prison, a fine of $5 million, or both.
- Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense carries a punishment of between five years and life in prison to be served consecutively to any other sentence, a fine of $250,000, or both.
- Smuggling goods from the United States carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
An indictment and complaint are simply methods by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the Phoenix matter, the Phoenix Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is prosecuting the case.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.