Jamaican-American among five charged with trafficking over 350 stolen guns to Caribbean

A Jamaican-American dual citizen is among five men charged in a federal firearms trafficking case involving the alleged theft and smuggling of hundreds of stolen guns from the United States to destinations in the Caribbean.

Federal prosecutors in Georgia announced that Andre Lalor, 48, of Conyers, Georgia, along with four other Atlanta-area men, faces multiple charges stemming from what authorities describe as a years-long operation that supplied stolen firearms for illegal export.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Lalor, also known as "Plug Dre," allegedly worked with others to acquire firearms stolen during vehicle break-ins across the Atlanta metropolitan area and arrange for their shipment overseas.

Prosecutors allege that on April 2, 2025, agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted a package at Miami International Airport bound for Georgetown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Hidden inside a package containing a queen-sized air mattress were three undeclared 9mm pistols, including one handgun reported stolen in Atlanta a month earlier.

The discovery led investigators to uncover what they described as a broader firearms trafficking network.

Authorities allege that co-defendants Lorenzo Harris-Brown, D’Anthony Varner and Albert Brown carried out numerous vehicle break-ins and burglaries throughout the Atlanta area, stealing firearms and other valuables. The stolen weapons were allegedly supplied to Sanchaz Turner, who then connected with Lalor to sell and distribute the firearms.

Investigators said a court-authorized search of Turner's cellphone uncovered text messages in which photographs and descriptions of more than 350 firearms were allegedly shared with Lalor.

After obtaining the weapons, Lalor allegedly attempted to ship them to contacts in the Caribbean and Canada. Several of those shipments were intercepted by law enforcement, resulting in the seizure of dozens of stolen firearms, prosecutors said.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment on May 27 charging all five men with conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking, trafficking in firearms, possession of stolen firearms and dealing in firearms without a license.

Lalor also faces additional charges, including attempted smuggling of goods from the United States, failure to notify a common carrier and failure to file required export information.

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said the defendants allegedly fueled violence abroad by sourcing stolen firearms in Atlanta and attempting to move them out of the country.

"These defendants allegedly perpetrated a multi-year crime spree in the city of Atlanta—breaking into vehicles and stealing guns—to source firearms to be smuggled out of our country, fueling violence overseas," Hertzberg said.

The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Atlanta Police Department.

Federal authorities noted that the charges are allegations only and that all five defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.