Shannon Nicole Samlalsingh, a former high school teacher in Hillsborough County, was sentenced on Mar. 11 to one year and one day in federal prison for conspiracy to make false statements to a firearms dealer. U.S. District Judge William F. Jung also ordered Samlalsingh to forfeit the firearms purchased as part of the offense, according to an announcement by United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe.
The case highlights concerns about illegal firearm trafficking and its connection to transnational criminal organizations. Authorities say such activities can contribute to violence and instability both domestically and abroad.
Court documents show that Samlalsingh, who was employed as a teacher at the time, bought seven firearms under false pretenses for a Trinidad-based transnational criminal organization. She falsely indicated on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives forms that the weapons were for her personal use but instead provided them to members of the organization who smuggled them into Trinidad.
Trinidad authorities intercepted a shipment from the United States on April 21, 2022, at Piarco International Airport. The shipment contained two punching bags concealing eleven 9mm pistols, two .38 caliber special revolvers, a semi-automatic shotgun, AR-15 parts and magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and other firearm accessories. Four of these seized firearms had been purchased by Samlalsingh: a SAR-9 9mm pistol, Ruger-9 9mm pistol, Taurus G3 9mm pistol, and Taurus G2C 9mm pistol.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), HSI’s Attaché Caribbean office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Trinidad and Tobago Police Service units specializing in organized crime and special investigations, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Adam W. McCall prosecuted the case.
Samlalsingh pleaded guilty on June 20, 2025.
