EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The former owner of a uniform and ammunition shop on the West Texas border has been arrested on charges of money laundering and smuggling ammunition and other items into Mexico.
The U.S. attorney's office says a federal indictment unsealed Monday in El Paso alleges 48-year-old Hector Ayala tried to move ammunition, about 300 high-capacity magazines and about 800 bulletproof vests to Mexico.
Ayala owned Uniforms of Texas, an El Paso store raided by federal agents in December. Ayala was arrested Monday morning and is to appear in court Tuesday. It's unclear if he has an attorney.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the money laundering charges and up to 10 years behind bars on each of the other charges.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.