United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PORTLAND, Ore.—Hugo Alberto Roman Aparicio, 42, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release for a gun trafficking conspiracy. All guns were seized and forfeited.

According to court documents, Roman Aparicio and others, conspired to smuggle guns from Portland to Mexico. They hid 12 firearms in the spare tire compartment of a car, that Roman Aparicio obtained, to secretly transport the guns into Mexico.

Roman Aparicio, and others, arranged for the guns to be left with a co-conspirator in California, who was to complete the trip and smuggle the guns into Mexico. Investigators believe the guns were destined for cartels. The group was trying to impress a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) with the hope of receiving illegal drugs to sell in Oregon.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, located and stopped the courier in California before the guns could be transferred. The courier’s vehicle was searched, and law enforcement officers found the firearms hidden in the spare tire area.

On November 26, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a 2-count superseding indictment charging Roman Aparicio with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to traffic firearms.

On May 22, 2026, Roman Aparicio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in firearms.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Tigard Police Department, Sherwood Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul T. Maloney and James Kilcup.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Portland comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, DEA, USMS, IRS-CI, ATF, USPIS, CBP, TSA, U.S. Coast Guard, Oregon Air, Army National Guard Counterdrug program, and Oregon-Idaho HIDTA with prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

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