Trinidad national sentenced to nearly 5 years for smuggling over 200 firearms from US

A 36-year-old citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, Shem Wayne Alexander, extradited from Jamaica, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in a United States federal prison for conspiring to smuggle more than 200 firearms from the U.S. to his home country.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge John L. Badalamenti in the Middle District of Florida. Alexander had previously pleaded guilty and was also ordered to forfeit firearms seized during the investigation.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between April 2019 and April 2022, Alexander and his co-conspirators unlawfully exported firearms and firearm components—including upper and lower receivers, gun parts kits, and related items—from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago.

A notable seizure occurred on April 21, 2021, when Trinidad and Tobago authorities intercepted a shipment at Piarco International Airport containing two punching bags. The shipment, falsely described as “household items,” concealed approximately:

• 11 9mm pistols

• 2 .38 caliber revolvers

• 1 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun

• Multiple AR-15 components, magazines, and ammunition

• Hundreds of rounds of assorted firearm ammunition

Authorities said Alexander and his associates arranged the shipment without disclosing its true contents to the shipper.

The investigation involved multiple agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (including its Transnational Organized Crime Unit and Special Investigations Unit), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.

The case also involved international coordination, with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and Jamaica’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which facilitated Alexander’s extradition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam W. McCall prosecuted the case in the Middle District of Florida.

This sentencing underscores the continued international cooperation in combating firearms trafficking across borders.