Seven members of a ring that smuggled hundreds of guns from Florida and sold them to street gangs in Puerto Rico

Florida is one of the top states for the illegal export of guns, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which investigated this case. In 2007, Tampa ranked fourth statewide among sources of illegal guns used in crimes.
Seven members of a ring that smuggled hundreds of guns from Florida and sold them to street gangs in Puerto Rico have received prison sentences ranging from one to 14 years.Defense attorneys said today that two people who cooperated in the early stages of the investigation were killed in Puerto Rico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eduardo Toro-Font said details will be made public next week when other defendants are sentenced.Among the six defendants sentenced today was Eliud Benitez-Ayala, 39, a former San Juan police officer who must serve 3 1/2 years in federal prison for his role in the ring."It's a dark and gloomy day when someone who has previously been connected to law enforcement is brought to court to be sentenced for criminal conduct," Toro-Font said.When Benitez-Ayala was arrested in an Orlando hotel room, investigators found a cache of weapons, including rifles with their serial numbers obliterated, Toro-Font said. They also found a tool that could be used to grind off the numbers.The prosecutor said circumstantial evidence suggested the former police officer was giving the other defendants information on how to avoid detection.But defense attorney Pedro Amador said his client played a low-level role in the conspiracy and merely rented a car for other members of the ring.Also sentenced today were: Elliott Torres-Casanova, 28, to five years in prison; Myrna Melendez, 56, to 18 months; William Lopez Pereira, 30, to five years; David Colon Rohena, 47, to 18 months; and his wife, Magda Colon, 46, to one year.U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara on Thursday sentenced Joel Quintana-Ortiz, 42, to 14 years in prison. Quintana-Ortiz, who previously was convicted of conspiring to import heroin, sent guns to the ring's leader in exchange for cocaine. He provided money to other conspirators and told them what kinds of guns to buy.All but two of the 15 charged in the case have pleaded guilty to involvement in the ring that purchased guns from legitimate dealers in Florida from 2004 through 2007 and shipped them to Puerto Rico disguised as other items. The remaining two defendants are awaiting trial in an Ohio death penalty case, Toro-Font said.The gun ring participants purchased firearms from 25 dealers in places including Tampa, Port Richey, New Port Richey, Hudson, Palm Harbor and Spring Hill. They bought as many as 20 guns in a day – eight from a single dealer – claiming they were for personal use.Most of the firearms were "AK-47 type rifles," records state.Six more defendants are scheduled to be sentenced next week.

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