A total of 22 San Antonio residents are headed to federal prison in connection with an illegal gun trafficking operation believed to be tied to Mexican drug dealers.

Nine people have been sentenced so far to prison terms ranging from one to 14 years.   

Two of them learned their fate Tuesday in U. S. District Court in Del Rio. Keith Edwards, 23, was sentenced to 87 months in prison, while Ricky Gonzales, 22, has been ordered to serve out a 42-month sentence.

Other defendants are scheduled to be sentenced during this month, and in March and April.

Edwards and Gonzales are among 22 people who pleaded guilty to charges related to what the U. S. Attorney’s Office calls a “straw purchasing” operation.

It involves people who have no criminal record purchasing weapons from legitimate gun dealers, then turning them over to others. The “straw purchasers” usually are paid a few hundred dollars for their involvement, investigators said.

"These weapons were destined for Mexico, no doubt. They were destined for organized crime, the cartels that are operating in Mexico,” said Jerry Robinette, special agent in charge with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

ICE was one of several federal agencies that took part in the investigation. It began with a tip federal agents received in May 2010.

According to a news release, the defendants include two men who are believed to be the ring leaders of the operation, Marino Castro, Jr., 27, and Edward Levar Davis, 33.   

Investigators said Castro recruited his own mother and aunt for the operation, as well as eight housewives and more than a half dozen people in their 20s.

U. S. Attorney Robert Pitman, Western District of Texas, said the case should serve as a warning to others who might be considering taking part in this type of behavior.

"Even if that role is being paid a couple of hundred dollars for buying a firearm and passing it off to a middle man, it will net them a prison sentence for up to 10 years," Pitman said.