Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 05/Sep 17:14

Trinidad and Tobago football director pleads guilty to gun-smuggling

FORMER youth football director Shem Alexander has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the United States to Trinidad and Tobago. Alexander is the former managing director of Gateway Athletics, which managed the Republic Cup national youth football league between 2022 and 2024. He also coached at MIC Matura United and Hillview College. He was one of five defendants who admitted involvement in the case. The US Attorney's Office said the group concealed pistols, revolvers, a shotgun, AR-15 components, ammunition, and magazines inside two punching bags shipped to Piarco in April 2021. US prosecutors had previously described the 35-year-old as the leader of a transnational criminal group, but the plea agreement reduced his possible sentence to a maximum of five years. Other defendants, including nationals Tevin O’Brian Oliver and Jameal Kaia Phillip, and American Edward Solomon King III, were sentenced for related offences. In June 2025, Florida teacher Shannon Lee Samlalsingh also pleaded guilty to making false statements to a firearms dealer to facilitate straw purchases. In a statement, the US Embassy said the TT police service’s transnational organised crime unit and special investigations unit, the Homeland Security investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, US Customs and Border Protection, the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Jamaica Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Jamaican Ministry of National Security played key and co-operating roles critical to Alexander’s arrest and extradition. Chargé d’Affaires Charlie J Franta III said, “Illegal firearms trafficking fuels violence and undermines security across our region. “The successful prosecution of this case is a direct result of the strong partnership between the US, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaican law enforcement. Our nations remain committed to dismantling the transnational criminal networks that threaten the safety of our citizens.” The embassy said the case was part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program, which targets the most serious transnational criminal organisations. Alexander was arrested in Jamaica on November 15, 2024, on a provisional arrest request and was extradited to the US on December 20, 2024. The post Trinidad and Tobago football director pleads guilty to gun-smuggling appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.