Man sentenced to prison for trafficking meth, ghost guns

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- A San Diego man found guilty of trafficking methamphetamine and ghost guns was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison, prosecutors said.

Carlos Mendoza, 31, admitted to selling methamphetamine to undercover federal agents in February 2023 and illegally selling eight privately-made firearms, also known as "ghost guns," the Office of the United States Attorney Southern District of California said in a news release Friday.

From February to May 2023, authorities conducted the Privately Made Firearm Crime Reduction Project that used data analytics to find areas where there was an increase in gun violence and where crime guns were being recovered, according to officials. The project netted the arrest of Mendoza, as well as the seizure of 165 ghost guns and the prosecution of 33 people.

“Removing dangerous drugs and illegal guns from the street makes all of us safer,” U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said. “Now we’ve removed a dealer from the equation, too.”