Upper Marlboro man admits to trafficking stolen guns into New Jersey

An Upper Marlboro man admitted in federal court to helping move stolen and untraceable guns into New Jersey, a case that prosecutors say reveals how firearms can flow from Prince George’s County into an interstate trafficking pipeline.

Luiz Vargas, 26, also known as “El Biggie,” pleaded guilty June 4 before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner to a one-count information charging transportation of a stolen firearm in Ocean County, New Jersey. The case, handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Sept. 30, 2026.

Investigators said the case began in January 2025 and centered on firearms trafficking from Texas, Maryland and other locations into New Jersey. Working with a confidential source under law-enforcement direction and supervision, officers carried out four controlled purchases that produced eight firearms: two semiautomatic rifles and six handguns. Two of the handguns had been reported stolen from Texas and Colorado, while the rifles had no serial numbers or other identifiable markings.

The facts of the plea underscore how a trafficking case can link neighborhoods far from Ocean County to gun violence risks in New Jersey communities. Vargas, who has never held a federal license to deal or manufacture firearms, was also accused of providing cocaine to the confidential source on at least one occasion after being unable to complete a promised firearm sale. Prosecutors said that detail further tied the case to a wider criminal marketplace, where guns and drugs can move together across state lines.

U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said trafficking illegal firearms poses a direct threat to community safety and said federal prosecutors will continue working with law-enforcement partners to pursue people who bring illegal weapons into New Jersey. The FBI in Newark led the investigation, with help from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Newark and police departments in Howell Township, Ocean County, Asbury Park, Freehold Borough, Lakewood, Little Silver, Marlboro, Middletown, Monroe and Wall. For Prince George’s County, the plea places Upper Marlboro at the center of a case that investigators say reached well beyond Maryland and into a broader gun-running network.