Shem Wayne Alexander, a 35-year-old national of Trinidad and Tobago, pleaded guilty in Tampa, Florida to conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the United States to Trinidad and Tobago. He was arrested in Jamaica on November 15, 2024, following a U.S. provisional arrest request, and extradited to the United States on December 20, 2024. Alexander faces up to five years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Alexander and his co-conspirators exported firearms and related components from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago between April 2019 and April 2022. On April 21, 2021, authorities at Piarco International Airport in Port of Spain intercepted a shipment sent by Alexander’s group. The shipment was described as “household items” but actually contained concealed firearms and components inside two punching bags. Items seized included eleven 9mm pistols, two .38 caliber revolvers, a shotgun, multiple AR-15 parts and magazines, ammunition for various weapons, magazine couplers, and shotgun chokes. The group did not notify the shipper about the true contents.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), including its Legal Attaché for the Caribbean; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Trinidad and Tobago Police Service units; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; United States Customs and Border Protection; as well as international cooperation from Jamaica’s law enforcement agencies. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs also played a role in securing Alexander’s extradition.
Assistant United States Attorneys David W.A. Chee and Adam W. McCall are prosecuting the case.
The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation aimed at identifying and dismantling major transnational criminal organizations.
"United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Shem Wayne Alexander (35, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the United States to Trinidad and Tobago."
