Tucker Firearms Trafficker Attempts To Smuggle Guns To Haiti

TUCKER, GA — Jacques Mathieu has pleaded guilty to attempting to export 12 firearms and approximately 36,000 rounds of ammunition to Haiti by concealing the contraband in a car he intended to ship to the island.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, in September 2019, Haitian national Jacques Mathieu, 51, of Tucker, Georgia, attempted to ship a 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara to Haiti via the Port of Palm Beach, Florida.

He reported on export shipping documents that the car contained 12 boxes of used clothing. However, Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) and Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement agents searched the car and discovered 12 firearms and approximately 36,000 rounds of ammunition concealed in the boxes.

Mathieu pleaded guilty to the offense of attempting to export firearms and ammunition to the Republic of Haiti. Sentencing is scheduled for January 8, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry of Security.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen is prosecuting the case.

“Firearms trafficking poses a very serious threat to the safety of our communities in the U.S. and abroad,” said Arthur Peralta, Special Agent in Charge of ATF in Atlanta. “Jacques Mathieu’s attempts to illegally export firearms is a significant concern for the people of Haiti and we will do everything we can do to stop these illegal firearms from falling into the wrong hands.”