LOCAL football director/administrator Shem Alexander has been pinpointed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) as the leader of a criminal ring which conspired to commit unlawful export, smuggling and trafficking of firearms from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago between 2019 and 2022.
If convicted, Alexander, 35, who founded Gateway Athletics, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in a US federal prison. US Attorney Roger B Handberg made the announcement after an indictment was unsealed on January 22.
On November 15, at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Alexander was arrested by Jamaican authorities under the suspicion of trafficking guns and ammunition from the US to T&T. He was subsequently extradited to the US on December 20, and is currently detained pending a trial.
The indictment said Alexander is the leader of a group which unlawfully exported firearms and firearm components (including upper/lower receivers and gun part kits) and related items.
The firearms included rifles and pistols and related equipment which were concealed in boxing/fight equipment, speakers and other household items to avoid possible detection by law enforcement and customs.
The prosecution's case accuses Alexander and conspirators of acquiring firearms in the Tampa area from different sellers, "through straw purchases, falsely representing the identities of the actual purchasers and recipients of the firearms, as well as their ultimate destination."
On April 7, 2021, prosecutors believe Alexander allegedly directed the shipment of a package containing various firearms and related equipment, including a Taurus G2C 9mm pistol, a SAR Arms SAR-9 9mm pistol, a Taurus G3 9mm pistol and a Ruger Security-9 9mm pistol from Miami to T&T.
On April 22, 2021, authorities at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad seized those firearms and other, related items concealed in the shipment.
It was one of the single largest arms find in recent years and was the result of a multi-pronged probe by US law enforcement agencies.
In October 2022, two T&T nationals – Tevin O'Brian Oliver and Jameal Kaia Phillip – and US national Edward Soloman King III were jointly charged in relation to the find.
In April 2023, the three men pleaded guilty to the federal charges and also agreed to forfeit various firearms, ammunition and related items which facilitated the offences, as part of their plea deal. Prosecutors said King helped Phillip and Oliver acquire and transfer firearms in the Tampa area.
In July 2023, Oliver and Phillip were sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to smuggle goods from the US. At the time of his guilty plea, King was facing a maximum of 15 years in federal prison.
After his initial arrest in November, Alexander took a "voluntary leave of absence as the managing director at Gateway Athletics in order to focus on treating the allegations."
The January 22 report said Alexander's case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), including HSI's Attache Caribbean, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, US Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Industry and Security – Office of Export Enforcement, as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.
The Transnational Organized Crime Unit and Special Investigations Unit of the T&T police assisted with the investigations.
The case will be prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney David Chee.
SOURCE: T&T Newsday