TAMPA, Florida — Two men from Cleveland, Ohio have been arrested and charged with multiple firearm-related offenses in Tampa, Florida. Yuendry Rodriguez Hilario and Saleh Yusuf Saleh were taken into custody on March 2, 2023, and have been accused of conspiring to transfer firearms to commit a felony and/or drug trafficking crime, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, illegal transfer of firearms, unlicensed firearm dealing, and conspiracy to violate federal gun laws.
According to the complaint filed by United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg, undercover agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had been in communication with Rodriguez Hilario since 2021, posing as members of a Mexican cartel. The complaint states that Rodriguez Hilario offered to sell the agents AR-15s, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and even fentanyl to make pills.
The conspiracy allegedly involved the sale or arrangement for the sale of at least 90 rifles and one Mac-10-type machine gun to undercover agents in Florida and Cleveland. In November 2022, an undercover agent told Rodriguez Hilario that their associates in Mexico needed more firearms. On March 2, 2023, Rodriguez Hilario arranged to deliver 40 AM-15 multi-caliber firearms to the agents, and Saleh, who acquired and assembled the parts to make the firearms, arrived at the meeting with Rodriguez Hilario and the agents. Both Rodriguez Hilario and Saleh were arrested after an undercover agent inspected one of the boxes of firearms.
If convicted on all counts, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Both have been ordered detained pending the outcomes of their cases. A complaint is merely a formal charge, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
