Two women charged with smuggling 12 guns from Atlanta to Brownsville

MCALLEN, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — Homeland Security Investigations caught two women smuggling guns from Atlanta to Brownsville on Wednesday, according to the criminal complaint against them.

At 11:49 a.m. Wednesday, sheriff’s deputies stopped a Chevrolet Silverado in Refugio County.

When they searched the truck, deputies found a dozen guns, 20 high-capacity magazines and $6,000, according to a post on X , the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The deputies contacted Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Agents questioned two occupants of the truck, Evelyn Alyin Hernandez of Houston and Lorena Rodriguez of Brownsville, about the weapons and the money.

“Hernandez informed agents that she knew the contraband was destined for Mexico and stated that someone else would be transporting it across the border,” according to the criminal complaint.

In the interview, Hernandez admitted that she had never applied for a license to export weapons.

“Furthermore, during a consent search of her cell phone, agents observed communications between Hernandez and a subject in Mexico discussing the smuggling of the contraband into Mexico,” according to the criminal complaint.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, said that someone paid her $1,400 to “assist in the transportation of bulk currency” from Atlanta to Brownsville.

“No further details are being provided as the criminal investigation continues,” Homeland Security Investigations said in the post on X.

Hernandez and Rodriguez are charged with aiding and abetting the smuggling of goods from the United States.

Court records don’t list attorneys for Hernandez and Rodriguez, who remained in federal custody on Friday and couldn’t be reached for comment.

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