(Trinidad Guardian) Three US residents have been sentenced for illegally purchasing 36 guns and smuggling them into T&T from Atlanta, Georgia.
The men are Errol Alfred, 40; Kerry Fernandez, 34 and Jordan Dunham, 26, all from Georgia.
According to a report on NBC’s 11alive.com, Alfred and Fernandez were sentenced for their respective roles in illegally purchasing and trafficking the weapons, whilst Dunham, a co-defendant in the case, was sentenced for illegally purchasing some of the shipped firearms for the two men.
According to US Attorney Byung J Pak, between August 2013 and September 2014, Alfred and Fernandez purchased the guns from a local firearms licensee for the purpose of shipping the firearms to T&T for resale. Officials said the defendants hid the weapons in shipping barrels without the shipping company knowing.
Last Thursday, Alfred was sentenced to five years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Fernandez received a sentence of two years and three months, followed by three years of supervised release, while Dunham was sentenced to six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
Special Agent in Charge, Arthur Peralta, said the unlawful acquisition and trafficking of firearms was a serious crime that “feeds and intensifies the violence that plagues so many communities here (referring to the US) and abroad.”
“This investigation illustrates the collective resolve of ATF and its law enforcement partners to stem the flow of illegal firearms within the US or anywhere these criminals choose to operate,” Peralta said.