Freehold, Florida Men Indicted On Gun Trafficking Charges

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Freehold man was charged with conspiring to illegally sell firearms, including handguns and a semi-automatic rifle, in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig.

Enrique Quijada, 24, aka “El Enano 13,” aka “Kike,” was charged with one count of conspiracy to engage in firearms trafficking and two counts of possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully present in the United States.

A Florida man called Manuel Espinosa-Ozoria, 31, aka “Chino,” also faced trafficking charges. The two were part of a gun trafficking conspiracy in which they profited from illegally obtaining and selling firearms, from May 2020 through September 2020, according to Honig.

If found guilty, Quijada faces up five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy to engage in firearms trafficking charge and up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully present in the United States.

According to gun trace data, a significant number of firearms recovered in New York and northern New Jersey originate from outside the area, Honig said.

In July 2021 the U.S. Department of Justice launched five cross-jurisdictional strike forces to help reduce gun violence by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in key regions across the country. They include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area/Sacramento Region and Washington, D.C.