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A Trinidad and Tobago national has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to smuggle firearms from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago, a scheme that authorities say spanned three years.

Shem Wayne Alexander, 35, faces up to five years in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy, which involved unlawfully exporting firearms, firearm components, and ammunition between April 2019 and April 2022. Alexander was arrested in Jamaica on November 15, 2024, following a U.S. provisional arrest request, and was extradited to the United States on December 20, 2024.

A key seizure occurred on April 21, 2021, when officers from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and the Customs and Excise Division intercepted a shipment at Piarco International Airport. Concealed inside two punching bags were multiple pistols, revolvers, a shotgun, AR-15 components, magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.