CHICAGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
CHICAGO — Two individuals have been arrested in connection with an undercover federal firearm investigation in the Chicago suburbs.
On Feb. 5, 2026, MATTHEW BARRAZA, 21, of Chicago, illegally sold a loaded handgun to an undercover law enforcement officer for $2,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The handgun was equipped with a machine gun conversion device, which allows the gun to fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger. Also attached to the firearm was an extended magazine containing 19 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, the complaint states. During the firearm transaction, which occurred at a gas station in Bolingbrook, Ill., Barraza also sold approximately 127 grams of cocaine to the undercover officer for $3,600, the complaint states. Barraza is charged with unlicensed dealing of a firearm, possession of a machine gun, and distribution of a controlled substance.
A separate federal complaint charges EDWIN MORENO, 27, of Chicago, with possessing a machine gun. Moreno possessed the firearm, which was equipped with a machine gun conversion device, on Jan. 15, 2026, while providing what he believed was security for tow operators allegedly conducting a vehicle repossession in Joliet, Ill., the complaint states. Unbeknownst to Moreno, the purported tow operators were undercover law enforcement officers, the complaint states.
Barraza and Moreno were arrested on Wednesday. Detention hearings in federal court have been scheduled for Feb. 25, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura K. McNally.
The charges and arrests were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Substantial assistance was provided by the Joliet Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Saqib Mohammad Hussain.
