The cargo in the Learjet, along with $20,000, led to arrest of 2 Venezuelans, feds say
Two Venezuelan nationals on a Learjet taxiing to a takeoff from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Saturday were charged with smuggling in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Monday.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the criminal complaint, agents found Luis Alberto Patino Linares and Gregori Jerson Mendez Palacios were about to take off with 18 assault/bolt action rifles with optics; six shotguns; 58 semi-automatic pistols; 63,000 rounds of ammunition; body armor; a firearm silencer/suppressor; $20,312 in U.S. cash; and $2,618.53 in endorsed checks.
The criminal complaint says they were in the United States on B1/B2 non-immigrant visas, used for those visiting for business or tourism. That makes shipping or transporting firearms a crime. Also, that cash amount far exceeds the $10,000 limit for not reporting the amount of currency being taken out of the country.
Each man faces charges of smuggling goods from the United States; alien in possession of firearms; bulk cash smuggling out of the United States.
The criminal complaint says though the Learjet, with tail number YV3441, is registered in Venezuela and Patino Linares and Mendez Palacios are from Venezuela, the flight plan filed had them heading for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Special agent Jared Rine wrote in the complaint, “From my training and experience, I know that pilots have filed flight plans to third party countries to avoid detection of their ultimate destinations to avoid scrutiny of law enforcement authorities.”
CBP called the plane back to the Customs area at the airport’s general aviation facility. Instead, after getting that direction from air traffic control, Mendez Palacios drove the plane back to the Jetscape private plane terminal about a mile and a half away. He then met Customs agents at the general aviation facility.
While Mendez Palacios claimed only $8,000 cash, the complaint said, agents headed over to Jetscape. When they got there, an FAA agent saw Patino Linares and a Jetscape ground crew taking boxes off the plane.
“ The FAA Inspector requested documents related to a safety inspection,” the complaint said, “Patino Linares stated that he did not speak English. The FAA Inspector asked Patino Linares in Spanish for documents related to a safety inspection. Again, Patino Linares stated that he did not speak English.”
After CBP saw a .50-caliber Barrett sniper rifle unloaded, they stopped the unloading and took stock of the plane’s cargo.
The complaint said Patino Linares admitted under questioning that he and Mendez Palacios bought the guns, ammunition and accessories while spending the previous three months living in a Coral Springs apartment. They were taking it all back to Venezuela.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 1:19 PM.
