A Lauderhill man admitted helping move more than 140 firearms from South Florida to Haiti, using industrial air compressors as unlikely gun lockers along the way. The scheme spanned more than four years and involved handguns, rifles and shotguns.
Jean Robert Casimir, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, smuggling and violating U.S. export control laws, according to Tampa Free Press. Casimir is a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Haitian National Police officer who admitted exporting at least 140 firearms between August 2020 and December 2024.
Air Compressors Hid The Firearms
The concealment method was industrial-scale rather than subtle: Casimir and co-conspirators cut open metal compressor tanks, packed disassembled weapons inside with foam insulation, then welded the tanks shut before shipping them on cargo vessels. A U.N. panel report described Casimir's case as part of a broader pattern involving Florida-based weapons purchases, maritime shipping and firearms hidden in air compressors.
Casimir bought at least 108 firearms from federally licensed dealers and another 30 to 35 from a private Florida seller, the Tampa Free Press reported. He was arrested in Lauderhill on December 16, 2024, and a federal grand jury indicted him on January 23, 2025.
Florida-Haiti Smuggling Cases Keep Stacking Up
The guilty plea arrives amid repeated federal prosecutions involving weapons shipped from Florida to Haiti. In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice said a New York attorney admitted trying to send a rifle and ammunition, then a pistol hidden inside a coffee container, from Miami-area cargo facilities to Haiti.
Hoodline also reported in May on a separate Jacksonville case involving a woman who pleaded guilty after allegedly helping purchase dozens of firearms and route them toward Haiti. The cases underscore how South Florida and other Florida gun markets can become starting points for international weapons pipelines.
Case Moves Toward Sentencing
The investigation involved the FBI Miami Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations in Miami and Washington, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Casimir's guilty plea resolves the central criminal allegations, while sentencing remains the next major step in federal court.
