TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – A former Hillsborough County high school teacher has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for helping to smuggle guns into Trinidad.
Shannon Nicole Samlalsingh, 47, pleaded guilty in June to charges of conspiracy to make false statements to a firearms dealer.
According to court documents, Samlalsingh bought seven firearms for a Trinidad-based criminal organization. Samlalsingh falsely stated on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives forms that those firearms were for her.
On April 21, 2022, Trinidad authorities seized a shipment from the U.S. containing two punching bags and other goods at Piarco International Airport.
Hidden inside was a large cache of weapons, including 9mm pistols, .38-caliber revolvers, a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, and parts and magazines for AR-style rifles, along with ammunition.
Samlalsingh had purchased four of the seized firearms: a SAR-9 9mm pistol, a Ruger-9 9mm pistol, a Taurus G3 9mm pistol, and a Taurus G2C 9mm pistol.
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