2 Held in Mexico on Gun Smuggling Charges

Mexican authorities have arrested a couple from Oregon on charges of taking handguns into the country.

Kevin John Faill, 22, and his wife, Marcie Mears, 18, made their initial appearance in court Tuesday. They were being held without bail in a municipal jail in downtown Tijuana.

Faill and Mears had a dozen handguns, ammunition and knives in their U-Haul truck Saturday when authorities stopped them as they crossed into Tijuana from San Diego, said a spokeswoman for the Mexican federal attorney general’s office.

The couple from Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland, face up to 10 years in prison under Mexico’s strict gun laws.

After a series of similar arrests in recent years, U.S. authorities have posted signs along the highways heading into Mexico, warning people against carrying guns over the border.