Fed Agents Pose As Repo Agents For Chicago Take-Down
Two Chicago-area men were taken into federal custody Wednesday following the conclusion of an undercover firearms investigation conducted by federal authorities.
Matthew Barraza, 21, has been charged with unlicensed dealing of firearms, possession of a machine gun, and distribution of a controlled substance. Edwin Moreno, 27, was also arrested and is facing allegations related to possession of a machine gun. Both individuals were identified during the course of a coordinated federal operation targeting illegal firearm activity.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Barraza allegedly sold a loaded handgun and 127 grams of cocaine to an undercover law enforcement officer on February 5 at a gas station in Bolingbrook. The firearm was equipped with a machine gun conversion device and an extended magazine containing 19 rounds of ammunition.
Moreno was identified during a separate phase of the investigation on January 15 in Joliet. Authorities state that undercover officers, operating in the capacity of repossession agents during a controlled vehicle repossession scenario, made contact with Moreno, who was allegedly in possession of a firearm outfitted with a machine gun conversion device.
Both defendants are scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally for initial proceedings in federal court. The investigation remains part of a broader enforcement effort focused on illegal firearm distribution and related criminal activity.
