Jamaican-American Named in US Gun-Smuggling Case Linked to JCF Probe

A Jamaican-American man who has been under investigation in Jamaica is one of five men charged by the United States Department of Justice in connection with alleged gun trafficking and related crimes.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force said in a late Monday release that the accused, who holds both Jamaican and US citizenship, has for some time been a major focus of enquiries by its Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division.

The US case centres on claims that the men helped obtain weapons stolen from vehicles in the Atlanta metropolitan area and tried to move them abroad using commercial shipping routes.

Details from the indictment, which was made public in the Northern District of Georgia, say the alleged network advertised more than 350 firearms for sale. US authorities also say several consignments were stopped before they could arrive at the planned overseas destinations in the Caribbean.

The investigation brought together several agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the US Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, the Atlanta Police Department and the JCF's FNID.

According to the JCF, the Jamaican-American accused was treated as a central target from the early stages of FNID's separate investigation into the importation of about 239 guns and almost 30,000 rounds of ammunition into Jamaica.

Police said that local probe is still in progress and sits within a wider JCF push to break up cross-border gun-trafficking operations accused of feeding illegal weapons to criminal groups in Jamaica.

Senior investigators regard the US indictment as an important step in efforts to take apart the alleged network and bring suspects before the courts in more than one jurisdiction. The JCF said it has continued to work closely with overseas law-enforcement partners to trace illegal firearms and identify people suspected of buying, transporting and distributing them.

Investigators have also indicated that if the accused man is convicted in the United States and serves any sentence imposed there, Jamaican authorities plan to pursue him over offences tied to the ongoing local investigation.