Former Officer Indicted On Gun Smuggling Charges

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Edwing Morales

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Five Guatemalan nationals have been indicted on gun smuggling charges after a year long investigation in Nashville. One of the men was a former Metro police officer.

Several agencies were involved in the investigation including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Metro Nashville Police Department and U.S. Attorney's Office.

Officials named Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez, Donald Efren Franco, Denis Franco, Luis Armando Monterroso Pineda and Edwing Ronal Morales in the indictment. Morales was a police trainee since April 2007. His employment was terminated Sept. 15, 2009.

A Metro police report concerning a disciplinary hearing for Morales said he claimed he was buying the guns for a friend. According to Morales the friend said he needed the guns to protect his wife and children in Guatemala. Police did not buy the excuse.

"This is what happens if you engage in this type of behavior. You can expect to be terminated, and you can expect to be indicted. If everything goes right you can expect to spend many years in prison," said Metro police chief Ronal Serpas.

Rojas-Lopez reportedly recruited the other four men to buy firearms. The men reportedly bought 23 firearms, and 18 of those were smuggled into Guatemala. The remaining 5 firearms were seized by authorities.

The suspects allegedly worked with members of Lorenzana and Mendoza Drug Cartels to determine which weapons to purchase and when to send them to Guatemala. The weapons were purchased from gun dealers in Middle Tennessee.

The men turned themselves into authorities on Tuesday. They could face deportation depending on the crimes they are convicted of.

The investigation was part of an ICE-led bi-lateral program called "Armas Cruzadas."