TIJUANA – A member of the La Familia cartel was detained Sunday carrying five firearms he said he acquired north of the border, state police announced.

The detention was the result of an operation carried out in the Colonia Buenas Aires Sur.

It was the second arrest in nine days involving a member of the La Familia cartel, one of Mexico’s most violent drug gangs.

A statement from the Baja California police issued Sunday said the suspect, Sergio Ochoa Contreras, 32, supplied weapons to the La Familia Michoacana cartel.

Police said he was detained in a Nissan Altima in which five firearms were found -- three .22 caliber rifles, a .410 shotgun and a third shotgun -- and ten .22 caliber rounds.

Ochoa Contreras told police that he had bought the weapons from a place called Best Sport in the United States with the help of his nephew, who lives in Bakersfield, according to the statement. The location of the store was not given.

The suspect said that for the last three months he had transported drugs, particularly marijuana, to the United States, as a member of the La Familia cartel, according to the statement.

On Feb. 23, state authorities arrested in Tijuana five members of La Familia who had ammunition for AK-47s, cash and methamphetamine valued at $640,000.

Authorities believe La Familia has operated in the border region for three years, paying the Arellano Félix cartel a fee to be able to operate on locally.

Federal authorities from both sides of the border admit that weapons and ammunition used by criminal organizations are bought in stores in the United States and then smuggled into Mexico.

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