HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – A former Hillsborough County high school teacher will spend the next year behind bars for her role in a scheme to funnel firearms to a criminal organization in Trinidad. Shannon Nicole Samlalsingh, 47, of Temple Terrace, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge William F. Jung to one year and one day in federal prison.
The sentence follows her June 20, 2025, guilty plea for conspiracy to make false statements to a firearms dealer.
The case against Samlalsingh centered on “straw purchases,” a process where an individual buys weapons for someone else while claiming the purchase is for themselves.
According to court documents, Samlalsingh purchased seven firearms intended for a Trinidad-based transnational criminal organization. When filling out Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) forms, she falsely stated she was the actual buyer. Instead, the weapons were handed off to organization members who smuggled them out of the United States.
READ: Spring Hill Wells Fargo Staff Set To Vote On Ousting Union Following ‘Broken Promises’
The investigation hit a breakthrough on April 21, 2022, when authorities at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad intercepted a suspicious shipment originating from the U.S. Inside two punching bags, officials discovered a massive cache of weaponry.
The seizure included 11 9mm pistols, two .38 caliber revolvers, and a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun. The shipment also contained a significant amount of tactical gear, including 470 rounds of AR-15 ammunition, multiple drum magazines, and various rifle components like barrel foregrips and lower pistol grip assemblies.
Investigators traced four of the seized 9mm pistols—specifically a SAR-9, a Ruger-9, a Taurus G3, and a Taurus G2C—directly back to Samlalsingh’s purchases.
United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the sentence, which also includes the mandatory forfeiture of the firearms involved in the offense.
The conviction resulted from a massive multi-agency effort involving Homeland Security Investigations, the ATF, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, with international assistance provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. Assistant United States Attorney Adam W. McCall prosecuted the case.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
