Federal Agents Seize Cache of Guns From Alleged Ring

Federal agents Tuesday smashed a ring of alleged weapons traffickers, seizing illegally enhanced automatic rifles and shotguns that were being offered for sale to street gangs and in Mexico.

According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents, the price of the armaments was not cheap. Last month, ring members sold undercover agents two converted Eagle Arms M15A2 rifles for $6,700. The weapons fire 5.56-millimeter bullets, the same caliber used in the military’s M-16 rifles.

In a court hearing Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Atty. John C. Rayburn Jr. described the suspects as a “sophisticated, well-connected group of individuals” who had been supplying undercover investigators with a “small army’s-worth of weapons.”

ATF agents bought about 25 weapons during the five-month investigation, and seized another 25 Tuesday, officials said. An ATF spokesman said most of the weapons, including an SKS-45 Russian assault rifle, were purchased legally as semiautomatic weapons but converted illegally to automatic.

Five Orange County men were taken into custody and charged with conspiracy to sell illegal firearms, and authorities are looking for two more suspects. Those arrested were Andy Chung, 22, of Fullerton; Tri Minh Dao, a.k.a. Jimmy, 21, of Anaheim; An Hoang Nguyen, a.k.a. Denny, 22, of Anaheim; Tam Quan Nguyen, a.k.a. Kevin, 22, of Fullerton; and Allen Cuong Duy Tu, a.k.a. Mark, 21, of Anaheim.

Authorities issued arrest warrants for Trung Minh Dao, a.k.a. Alex, 20, of Anaheim and Sang Ly Thong, 24, of Alhambra. Both men are considered armed and dangerous. Trung Minh Dao and Tri Minh Dao are brothers.

Also implicated in the alleged conspiracy but not charged were the owner of BJ Guns in Anaheim, a federally licensed arms dealer, and a Downey man who agents said assembled some of the illegal weapons in his home for the ring.

A 100-page affidavit filed in the case said that BJ Guns “is an integral part of the conspirators’ illegal trafficking operations” and agents alleged that the gun shop provided “a large number of the illegal firearms sold to undercover officers.”

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Bing Jupillo, owner of the gun store, is named in the affidavit but was not charged. Agents searched both his Anaheim home and store and retrieved gun purchase records and other evidence. Court documents said that Jupillo is not authorized to “sell or maintain fully automatic weapons” in his store on Lincoln Avenue. Jupillo declined to comment Tuesday when contacted at his store.

Investigators also alleged that Jerome Agudo de La Paz “assembled Eagle Arms” automatic weapons in his Downey home on Bellder Drive for the ring. Agents searched his home, but de La Paz was not charged.

On Tuesday, de La Paz denied any wrongdoing and allegations that he assembled illegal firearms for the suspects.

“What they found in my residence is normal stuff you find at gun shows,” said de La Paz. “I am a hobbyist and own guns. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

The arms cache recovered by agents included two armored vests--one with LAPD and SHERIFF patches on the front, the other labeled DEA--which led investigators to wonder if ring members used the weapons in home invasion robberies throughout Southern California.

“Did they do home invasion robberies, wearing these vests and posing as police? That’s one of the many things we’re trying to find out,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard La Forest at a news conference where the weapons and vests were displayed.

Agents also recovered several pistols, ammunition, hand-held radios and a black ninja costume when they searched the men’s homes.

Magistrate Judge Elgin Edwards ordered all the arrested men held without bail, except for Chung. Edwards allowed Chung to be released on $50,000 bail posted by his father, Peter Chung, so he can take a final examination today at Cal State Fullerton, where he is a junior.

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Peter Chung, who was present in court, said he is a doughnut shop owner and investment advisor. The father, a Tustin resident, said he did not believe that his son was a member of a gun-running group.

“This is not my son,” said Peter Chung.

Relatives of the other defendants also appeared in court. A woman who said she is the mother of Trung Minh Dao and Tri Minh Dao cried, and said she was praying for her sons.

Thomas MacDonald, an attorney for An Hoang Nguyen, said his 22-year-old client was an Anaheim High School senior. The defense attorney asked Edwards to release his client on bail so he could return to school, but Edwards denied the request.

La Forest said that agents do not know if the alleged ring members sold any illegal weapons to criminals, but that “the ultimate buyers were to be street gangs.” Agents concluded that some of the weapons were headed for customers in Mexico and various cities in the Midwest.

Officials refused to disclose how they learned of the ring’s activities.