ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Federal court documents reveal that a Central Florida man is accused of smuggling at least a dozen guns from Orlando to the Caribbean using false labels to hide the weapons.<\/p>\n
Court documents first identified by Court Watch reveal that authorities found one package in Dominica, a small island in the Caribbean. It was labeled as containing clothes, but authorities found it was packed with 150 rounds of ammunition, 13 magazines, and six guns with \u201cobliterated\u201d serial numbers. <\/p>\n
Another package labeled as canned food was found in South Florida, also bound for Dominica, containing six 9mm handguns and 12 magazines. <\/p>\n
Both shipments were traced back to an Orlando shipping company, where employees confirmed the name of the man who dropped off the packages to ship to Dominica. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a huge market in the Caribbean networks for firearms,\u201d said Rajan Joshi, a defense attorney who has handled similar gun smuggling cases. \u201cThe United States, with people having access to the firearms, makes it so much more easier for us to get the guns and send them over there illegally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenny James Phillip, who faces federal charges of smuggling firearms, has a history of illegal possession of guns in Dominica and was a fugitive living in Orlando, court documents say. <\/p>\n
Authorities say he has American and French citizenship. Investigators allege he masks his travel to Dominica by taking short boat rides from Guadeloupe, a French territory. <\/p>\n
Joshi says based on the court documents, authorities have enough evidence to argue Phillip could be a flight risk. <\/p>\n
A person with Phillip\u2019s name is listed in custody at a federal prison in Miami, and authorities have yet to provide more details on an arrest.<\/p>\n
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