Minnesota man sentenced to 2 years in prison for smuggling AK-47 rifle parts to Paraguay

MINNEAPOLIS – A local man was sentenced to two years in federal prison Monday for smuggling AK-47 assault rifle components to Paraguay. The criminal investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Minneapolis resident Fabian Patricio Lojano-Lojano, 30, was sentenced to two years in federal prison on one count of smuggling goods from the United States. Lojano-Lojano was charged Oct. 12, and pleaded guilty Oct. 27.

In his plea agreement, Lojano-Lojano admitted that June 23, 2010, he dropped off a package at a United Parcel Service (UPS) station in Minneapolis, bound for Paraguay. Lojano-Lojano said the package contained t-shirts, but it actually contained parts for AK-47 rifles.

On July 1, 2010, UPS received additional packages from Lojano-Lojano. The destination addresses on those packages were the same as the previous package although in this instance Lojano-Lojano used both a false name and return address on the packages. These packages also contained parts for six AK-47 rifles.

On May 18, 2011, authorities executed a search warrant at Lojano-Lojano's residence and seized two boxes containing M4 and AK-47 rifle parts and accessories.

In all, Lojano-Lojano admitted sending packages to the same individuals in Paraguay on 46 prior occasions between September 2009 and June 2010. At least 10 firearms were ultimately provided to the addressee in Paraguay through this process.