State police and Mexican Army soldiers arrested a 38-year-old man carrying a loaded 9mm submachine gun in the rural Ensenada interior on Thursday, April 3. The suspect, identified as José María “N” and a native of Valle de la Trinidad, was stopped near the settlement of San Matías around 6 p.m.
Officers from the Fuerza Estatal de Seguridad Ciudadana (FESC, the state public safety force) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, the state investigative agency) intercepted José María while he walked along the intersection of Calle Colón and Juan Vargas. A search revealed the submachine gun loaded with two live 9mm rounds concealed inside a fanny pack he carried on his shoulder.
Suspect Linked to Street-Level Drug Sales
Authorities say José María is also linked to narcomenudeo, or street-level drug dealing, which compounds the federal weapons charge. He was transferred to Ensenada and handed over to the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR, Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office) for ballistic testing and to determine his legal status.
The arrest came during Operación Valle de la Trinidad, a joint state and military deployment targeting high-impact crime in the rural corridor east of Ensenada. The operation involves the Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana de Baja California (SSCBC, the state security ministry), state investigators, and the Mexican Army.
Operation Launched After Quadruple Homicide
The security operation was activated in late March after four men were killed in Valle de la Trinidad on the night of Saturday, March 28. Authorities attributed the violence to rival criminal groups fighting over drug trafficking routes through the area. On March 30, officers detained three suspects in possession of high-caliber weapons in connection with those killings.
That initial deployment involved more than 200 officers and 48 ground units. Valle de la Trinidad sits roughly 130 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of downtown Ensenada along Highway 3, a route some travelers use to reach the San Pedro Mártir observatory or to cross between the Pacific coast and the Sea of Cortés side of the peninsula.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte and confirmed by Periodismo Negro and En Línea BC.