SmugglingFacebook helps foil arms-smuggling deal

With the help of Facebook, federal investigators were able to arrest a man on charges of illegally shipping weapons parts internationally after he “friended” his weapons buyer.

Fabian Lojano-Lojano, an illegal immigrant living in Minneapolis, first came to the attention of federal authorities in July 2010 when a UPS employee alerted authorities to a suspicious package.

The employee became concerned after Lojano using the alias Juan Vargas sought to ship an unusually heavy box of “T-shirts” to Florida using the more costly air freight method.

Upon opening the box, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) found AK-47 rifle parts. This prompted authorities to investigate further and it was discovered that the rifle parts were being sent to a Miami-based freight forwarder called American Fast Cargo which would ultimately ship it to three individuals in Asuncion, Paraguay - Edgar Fretes, Gustavo Fretes, and Carlos Caceres.

Edgar Fretes, an employee of a Paraguayan security firm, was listed among Lojano’s Facebook friends.

Shipping records indicate that the three Paraguayan individuals received roughly forty-six packages from several people including Lojano starting in September 2009.

Of the forty-six shipments, Lojano was responsible for twenty of them. Lojano, who lacked the proper permits, labeled the AK-47 rifle parts as clothes, silverware, or other items to disguise them.

Three of the boxes that investigators examined alone contained enough parts to assemble six working AK-47s and a search of Lojano’s residence revealed two additional boxes of parts and accessories for M-4 and AK-47 rifles.

Lojano was charged in May, worked out a plea bargain, and is schedule to plead guilty on 25 October to a single smuggling charge. If convicted, he could face up to ten years in prison.