A Jamaican-American who has been the subject of investigations locally is among five men indicted by the United States Department of Justice on firearms trafficking and related offences following a probe into an alleged transnational network involving the smuggling of stolen weapons from the US to destinations in the Caribbean.

According to a Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) news release late Monday, the US-Jamaican dual citizen has long featured prominently in investigations being conducted by the JCF’s Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division (FNID).

The accused are alleged to have been involved in a scheme that sourced firearms stolen during vehicle break-ins in the Atlanta metropolitan area and attempted to ship them overseas through commercial channels, according to the indictment unsealed in the Northern District of Georgia.

US investigators allege that more than 350 firearms were offered for sale through the network, with several shipments intercepted by authorities before reaching their intended destinations. The indictment stems from a multi-agency investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the US Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the Atlanta Police Department and the FNID.

According to the JCF, the Jamaican-American accused was identified as a key investigative target from the inception of FNID’s probe into the importation of approximately 239 firearms and nearly 30,000 rounds of ammunition into the island. The investigation, which remains active, forms part of the JCF’s broader effort to disrupt transnational firearms trafficking networks that supply illegal weapons to criminal organisations operating in Jamaica, the police stated.

Senior investigators say the US indictment represents a significant development in the wider effort to dismantle the alleged trafficking network and hold those responsible accountable across multiple jurisdictions.

The JCF said it has maintained close collaboration with international law enforcement partners in tracking the movement of illegal firearms and identifying individuals believed to be involved in their procurement, shipment and distribution.

Investigators have indicated that, should the accused be convicted in the United States and upon completion of any sentence imposed there, Jamaican authorities intend to pursue him in relation to offences connected to the ongoing local investigation.