Last month, in Fremont County, Colorado, a mostly rural county southwest of Colorado Springs, two Fremont County detectives noted a van passing them without dimming headlights and so turned and initiated a traffic stop - and what they found was an eye-opener: Around 180,000 rounds of .30 caliber and 7.62mm rifle ammunition, packed in cases in the van.

Two Mexican nationals in the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas were arrested during a traffic stop in Colorado last month while transporting 180,000 rounds of ammunition, authorities said Wednesday.

Caesar Ramon Martinez Solis, 41, and Humberto Ivan Amador Gavira, 24, both of Mexico, were pulled over in Canon City on March 26, the U.S. Attorney’s Office – District of Colorado said in a news release.

Two Fremont County detectives had spotted a white Chevrolet van passing them without dimming its headlights, in violation of state law, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Canon City Daily Record. The detectives said the van also failed to signal when turning into a gas station and had a defective license plate lamp.

During the traffic stop, the detectives discovered approximately 150 boxes of .308 ammunition and approximately 30 boxes of 7.62 ammunition, officials said. Each box was labeled as containing 1,000 rounds.

It's unclear whether the 7.62 ammo described is 7.62 NATO, which is roughly equivalent to the .308 Winchester, or if it was 7.62x39 ammo, commonly used in AK-pattern rifles. Either way, that's a lot of ammunition, and this was not a casual purchase. The explanation that these two, who were apparently actually in the country legally, just doesn't hold water.

Martinez Solis told authorities that he and Amador Garcia, whom he claimed was his brother-in-law, had traveled from Mexico to Denver a day earlier to purchase a vehicle before driving to Salt Lake City to look at another vehicle he was interested in buying.

In Salt Lake City, the men stopped at a firearms and ammunition store, where Amador Garcia bought the ammunition, according to the affidavit.

"[Martinez Solis] further explained that he did not know the intent with the ammunition but that he believed it was destined for Pueblo," the affidavit stated. Pueblo is a city in Colorado located about 113 miles south of Denver.

Nobody "stops at a firearms and ammunition store" and casually purchases 180,000 rounds of rifle ammunition packed in cases. There's something else going on here.

See Also: Ahead, Troll Factor 8! Rep. Mike Collins 'Corrects' Chris Van Hollen's Office Plaque

Stephen Miller Brings It As Only He Can, Blasts Supporters of 'Wife-Beating, Terrorist Illegal Aliens'

This much ammunition, for one thing, would cost a lot, as in, well over six figures. It's also unlikely in the extreme that any firearms store would casually sell 180,000 rounds of ammo to two random guys in a van. No, this was a planned operation, with purchases (I'm betting) spread out over a number of different stores and likely in different states. This ammunition, if I had to guess, is intended for either gang warfare or crime; these two, again, if I had to guess, are working for a cartel.

Now, Homeland Security is involved, along with the Denver Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It's a safe bet there will be more charges, and this whole thing will be unraveled. There's just too much smoke here for there not to be a fire somewhere.