ORLANDO, Fla. — A joint Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Orlando investigation has led to the unsealing of an indictment charging two men from Florida with federal firearms trafficking-related offenses, including conspiracy to traffic firearms, firearms trafficking and dealing in firearms without a license.
Ernesto Vazquez, 23, of Orlando, and Derick Yamir Perez Diaz, 22, also of Orlando, each face a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts.
According to the indictment, Vazquez and Perez Diaz engineered a gun trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the distribution of over 100 firearms, including machine guns, into the Middle District of Florida, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Vazquez and his co-conspirators acquired firearms from private sellers, federal firearms licensees and Chinese manufacturers.
Most of the gun deals occurred in public places. Perez Diaz carried trunks full of firearms to the meeting locations. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant at Vazquez’s residence. Inside they found multiple firearms, stockpiles of ammunition and grenades.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by HSI Orlando, the ATF and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah P. Dorman.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 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 DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.