5 suspects named in indictment for New Mexico gun trafficking case

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s a case involving gun trafficking in the state through social media. A federal grand jury indicted five people in the case; the youngest suspect is 18.

“We do a tremendous amount of undercover work and search warrant work with online platforms to monitor and to investigate and to charge conduct like this,” said Alexander Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico.

The indictment names Micah Maestas, Dominic Ramirez, Daniel Garcia, and Jesus and Oscar Salmeron as defendants, accusing them of trafficking guns in the state through social media apps such as Instagram and Telegram.

“We’ve seen an increasing number of people, just generally people, using these platforms to sell all manners of illicit things, including drugs and firearms,” Uballez said.

According to the indictment, the suspects used social media apps to advertise weapons over several months in 2024. The document states the suspects negotiated a sale of a firearm, transported it to the buyer, and illegally sold it. They’re also accused of selling cocaine and illegally selling machinegun handgun converters.

“No matter how good of a shot you are, you cannot control a machinegun handgun, and so the threat that these pose to the community is dire,” Uballez explained.

The indictment states that the group sold four different weapons, three handguns, and one rifle, on different occasions to undercover cops for a total of nearly $5,000.

“We exist in these spaces, folks think they have privacy in applications like Telegram, but an indictment like this shows you that we have undercover officers operating those spaces as well,” Uballez added.

The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) announced Friday that their department, along with federal agents, conducted these undercover operations. They confiscated 11 firearms, 100 grams of cocaine, and about $8,000 during several search warrants. APD said some of those firearms were connected to violent incidents, such as a robbery and shooting in Texas.

“It’s our interest to track and link people to guns and to violence, so that we can both hold accountable the people, those who do violence, but also those who provide the guns and the means to do the violence,” Uballez said.

The suspects have warrants out for their arrest. APD said it was a 6-month undercover operation and the individuals indicted have connections to local gangs.

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