A 53-year-old Lauderhill, Florida, man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiracy, smuggling, and violating U.S. export control laws in connection with an illegal firearms trafficking scheme to Haiti.
Jean Robert Casimir, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Haitian National Police officer, admitted to illegally exporting at least 140 firearms from the United States to Haiti between August 2020 and December 2024.
Court records show Casimir carried out the shipments without obtaining the required export licenses from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
During the four-year period, Casimir bought at least 108 firearms from licensed federal dealers and another 30 to 35 weapons from a private seller in Florida. The weapons included handguns, rifles, and shotguns of various makes and models.
To bypass border security, Casimir and his co-conspirators concealed disassembled firearms inside industrial air compressors. The group cut open the metal tanks, packed the weapons inside with foam insulation, and welded the compressors shut before shipping them on cargo vessels departing from the Miami area.
Authorities arrested Casimir in Lauderhill on Dec. 16, 2024, and a federal grand jury indicted him on Jan. 23, 2025.
The plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia, FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles, and HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa.
The FBI Miami Field Office, HSI Washington D.C., and HSI Miami investigated the case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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