A Cape Coral man has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for his involvement in a firearm trafficking conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek handed down the sentence to Derick Desir, 28, after he pleaded guilty on July 23, 2025, to conspiring to make false statements and making false statements to firearms dealers.
Court records show that Desir joined a conspiracy in May 2022 to straw purchase handguns for others. In June of that year, working with another individual, Desir bought about twelve Glock handguns through seven transactions from six federally licensed firearms dealers in Lee County. During these purchases, Desir told each dealer he was the “actual buyer or transferee” of the firearms, though he knew they would be trafficked to Canada by others. Canadian law enforcement has since recovered at least five of those handguns during various investigations.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Simon Eth prosecuted the case.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
