U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized over 52,000 illegally transported gun parts from China in California.
CBP officers at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport along with the Machinery Center of Excellence and Expertise and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) seized 52,601 gun parts being imported from China with a value of $378,225, according to CBP.
The parts reportedly included “sights, stocks, muzzles, brakes, buffer kits, and grips,” according to a Thursday CBP press release. They arrived in three shipments.
“The gun parts arrived in three ocean containers and were not concealed. They were destined to a legitimate seller distributor,” CBP spokesperson Jaime Ruiz said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The seized parts were in conflict with the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations and violated an embargo on Chinese firearms, ATF investigators confirmed to CBP.
“This seizure is an exceptional example of CBP officers and import specialists vigilance, commitment and keen focus in enforcing complex arms embargo regulations,” CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles Carlos C. Martel said in a statement.
“The Chinese Arms Embargo is just one of the hundreds of regulations CBP enforces, ensuring the safety and security of our country,” he continued.
The importer could not be named due to limitations the Customs Secrets Act mandated, Ruiz said.
“We work closely with our strategic partners to ensure import compliance while maintaining the highest standards of security at our nation’s largest seaport,” CBP Port Director of the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport LaFonda Sutton-Burke said in a statement.
“This interception underscores the successful collaboration between CBP officers, import specialists and ATF investigators,” she continued.
CBP’s Office of Field Operations seized 266,279 firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, fireworks and explosives at 328 ports of entry in the U.S. in fiscal year 2018.
