Press Release
☷Three Haitian Nationals and One U S Citizen Charged with Firearms Trafficking in Support of 400 Mawozo Gang in Haiti
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( By Press Release office)
May 05,2022
| 35| 1
Three Haitian Nationals and One U . S . Citizen Charged with Firearms Trafficking in Support of 400 Mawozo Gang in Haiti WASHINGTON – An indictment was unsealed today charging four defendants with participating in a criminal conspiracy to violate U . S . export laws by smuggling firearms and munitions to Haiti . The indictment charges Joly Germine , also known as “Yonyon , ” 29 , a Haitian national; Eliande Tunis , 43 , a U . S . citizen , of Pompano Beach , Florida; Jocelyn Dor , 29 , a Haitian citizen who had been residing in Orlando , Florida , and Walder St . Louis , 33 , a Haitian citizen who had been residing in Miami . They are charged with conspiring to violate export control laws and to defraud the United States , violating export control laws , smuggling , and laundering money . Matthew M . Graves , U . S . Attorney for the District of Columbia , and George Piro , Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement today . Tunis , Dor , and St . Louis were apprehended in Florida in October and November 2021 . They pleaded not guilty and are being detained pending trial . The indictment was returned by a grand jury in the U . S . District Court for the District of Columbia on Nov . 30 , 2021 . On May 3 , 2022 , the Haitian government transferred Germine into United States custody on the basis of the District of Columbia arrest warrant . Germine appeared this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Robin M . Meriweather and was ordered detained pending further court proceedings . The indictment alleges that , from at least September through November 2021 , Germine , Tunis , Dor , and St . Louis conspired to acquire and supply firearms and munitions to members of the 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti . As alleged in the indictment , 400 Mawozo is a Haitian gang and criminal organization that operated in the Croix - des - Bouquets area to the east of Port - au - Prince , Haiti . From at least on or about Jan . 12 , 2020 , 400 Mawozo was engaged in armed kidnappings of U . S . citizens in Haiti for ransom . Germine , who has been incarcerated in Haiti since 2018 , serves as a leader of 400 Mawozo and directed operations from prison using unmonitored cell phones , the indictment alleges . According to the indictment , Tunis , Dor , and St . Louis obtained from Germine specifications for weapons and ammunition that Germine and other gang members wanted sent to Haiti . Tunis , Dor , and St . Louis , all of whom resided in Florida , purchased a number of firearms at Florida gun shops , including rifles , pistols , and handguns , while falsely stating that they were the “actual buyers” of the firearms . Tunis , Dor , and St . Louis then smuggled the firearms and ammunition to Haiti , concealing them in shipping containers , the indictment alleges . The indictment also outlines the defendants’ use of the U . S . financial system to facilitate the illegal firearm purchases . The 400 Mawozo gang claimed responsibility for kidnapping 16 U . S . citizens , including five children , and one Canadian citizen who were part of a missionary organization visiting an orphanage in Port au Prince , Haiti , in the fall of 2021 . The kidnapping of the U . S . citizens remains under investigation and no charges have been filed for those crimes . The charges in the indictment are merely allegations , and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law . If convicted of any offense , a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors . The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Miami Field Office . Valuable assistance was provided by the Haitian National Police . The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U . S . Attorney Karen P . Seifert , with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas and Special Assistant U . S . Attorney Hunter Deeley , of the U . S . Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia .
PLAY the NEWS
* May be useful for visually impaired persons .
Press release information:
Direct link to press release:
Click here .
