TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County high school teacher has pleaded guilty to federal charges connected to an international gun smuggling conspiracy involving a Trinidad-based criminal organization.
Shannon Lee Samlalsingh, 46, admitted to conspiring to make false statements to firearms dealers in a scheme that authorities say funneled weapons from Florida to Trinidad and Tobago. She entered the guilty plea on June 20 and faces up to five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
According to court documents, Samlalsingh purchased multiple firearms and components in Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties between 2020 and 2021. While filling out mandatory ATF Form 4473 background check paperwork, she falsely stated that she was the actual buyer. In reality, she was acting on behalf of a Trinidadian transnational criminal organization.
Investigators say Samlalsingh received international wire transfers with instructions to buy specific weapons, which she then passed to other members of the organization for smuggling abroad. She retained a portion of the funds as payment.
The firearms were concealed in items such as large wireless speakers and punching bags before being shipped overseas. On April 21, 2021, Trinidadian authorities at Piarco International Airport seized a shipment containing two punching bags that had been sent from the U.S. Hidden inside were:
- 11 9mm pistols
- 2 .38 caliber revolvers
- 1 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun
- Dozens of AR-15 parts and magazines
- Hundreds of rounds of ammunition
Several of the recovered firearms—including SAR-9, Ruger-9, and Taurus-brand pistols—were traced back to purchases made by Samlalsingh.
The investigation involved multiple U.S. and international agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of National Security. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs also provided support.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative aimed at dismantling high-level transnational criminal organizations.
