Two men from Trinidad and a United States national have admitted to shipping firearms and ammunition to this country between 2019 and last year.
In a US Department of Justice press release issued, US Attorney Roger Handberg, of the Middle District of Florida, announced that Tevin O’Brian Oliver and Jameal Kaia Phillip, both 30 and from Trinidad, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods from the US.
US national Edward Soloman King III, 31, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to disposing of a firearm to an alien who has been admitted to the US under a non-immigrant visa.
Oliver and Phillip are facing a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, while King is facing 15 years in prison.
As part of the plea agreements, the men agreed to forfeit various firearms and ammunition which facilitated the offences.
According to the release, the men were part of a ring that unlawfully exported firearms and firearm components from Florida to T&T.
“The firearms, which included pistols and long rifles, and related equipment were concealed within boxing/fighting equipment, speakers, and other household items to avoid detection by law enforcement and customs authorities,” the release said.
It stated that King assisted Phillip and Oliver in acquiring and transferring firearms in the Tampa area.
“Conspirators also acquired firearms from different sellers through straw purchases, falsely representing the identities of the actual purchasers and recipients of the firearms, as well as their ultimate destination,” it said.
It noted that around April 7, 2021, Oliver shipped a package containing four pistols from Miami to Trinidad. The firearms were seized by local law enforcement officials at the Piarco International Airport, later that month.
The case was investigated by US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the assistance of the T&T Ministry of National Security’s Transnational Organised Crime Unit, the T&T Police Service (TTPS), US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US Customs, and Border Protection and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
It was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Patrick Scruggs.