Levittown Man Trafficked Guns To The Caribbean: Feds

CROYDON, PA — Federal authorities have arrested a man from Croydon on charges claiming he tried to smuggle dozens of firearms to a buyer on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

Thomas Harris, Jr., 27, was indicted on charges of making false statements to a federal firearm licensee, dealing in firearms without a license, delivery of firearms to a common carrier without written notice and smuggling goods from the United States.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Harris bought about 38 firearms in 12 transactions at two gun shops in Bucks County between April 20, 2019 and Feb. 15, 2020. He provided a false address on the required federal forms that he completed, they said.

Authorities say Harris then trafficked, and attempted to traffic, the guns into St. Lucia, which is a sovereign island nation in the West Indies, despite not having a license to sell or export firearms. He also failed to notify the shipping company he used that his shipments included firearms, as required by law, prosecutors said.

One of the packages to St. Lucia was intercepted by federal agents at the warehouse of a shipping company. Inside, prosecutors say, investigators found seven Glock semi-automatic handguns, one Ruger Semi-automatic handgun, two AK-47-style rifles, two AR-15 lower receivers, two AR-15 upper receivers, 10 high-capacity Glock ammunition magazines, seven other ammunition magazines and 815 rounds of ammunition.

The firearms were hidden inside household items such as packages of diapers, cat litter and laundry detergent, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors say Harris used the alias "Lance Brown" when he took the packages to the shipping company and falsely told an employee the packages contained household items. After he dropped off the packages, Harris himself traveled to St. Lucia in March 2020, according to the indictment.

He stayed there until returning to the United States on July 25, when he was arrested at an airport in New York.

"As alleged in the indictment charging him with firearms trafficking offenses, Harris has a brazen disrespect for our laws meant to regulate and monitor the sale of weapons," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams. "After sending his most recent shipment of guns overseas, he also left the country for a few months, but all that did was postpone the inevitable.

"If you are charged in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with a federal offense, there is no place to hide, here or abroad. We will not rest until we find you and hold you accountable."

Michael Driscoll, special agent in charge of the FBI's Philadelphia division, said anyone who wants to be a firearms dealer should get the proper licenses and follow the law.

"Guns illegally exported overseas are quite likely to end up in the wrong hands and be used to commit further criminal acts," Driscoll said. "The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat weapons trafficking, in the interests of public safety here and abroad."

If convicted, Harris faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $3.75 million fine and a $1,500 special assessment.