EL PASO, Texas -- The new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent in charge for this region says he wants to continue to reduce the firearms flow into Mexico.

Robert Champion said the tools of the trade in the drug cartels are weapons and he wants to remove them. He said in order to do that better, he needs to make some changes in the El Paso office.

Champion showed KFOX what's inside the vault at the El Paso Field Office. These firearms were recovered at one point by ATF agents and now they are evidence.

"Gun trafficking is nothing new, but the volume has increased and the methods have become more sophisticated," said Champion.

The ATF has a lot of responsibilities like looking into arsons and explosives violations, but gun trafficking has taken priority these last few years. Champion says firearms is what's fueling the drug cartel violence in Mexico. Currently, the El Paso office has eight agents and a group supervisor. Champion wants to hire eight to 10 more agents.

"I'm trying to bring in one group to focus strictly on the trafficking aspect of it and having the other group just focus on the other," said Champion.

Champion said guns are in demand in Mexico and the U.S is the supplier. He said the ATF is implementing new techniques to fight gun trafficking, one for example is a software in Spanish used to trace guns, that way the Mexican government will use it as well.

"We have put a dent and I want to put an even bigger dent on it by bringing in additional resources," said Champion.

Champion said the ATF thought he was better suited for the region because he has experience working in the border. He's from McAllen but worked as an ATF agent in El Paso for six years.