COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nearly a dozen Columbus men were convicted and sentenced in a conspiracy to smuggle at least 200 guns to Canada for thousands of dollars.
A federal grand jury charged the men in indictments in August 2020 and November 2020.
According to Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Vipal J. Patel, the group bought the weapons both legally and illegally, stockpiled firearms and smuggled them to Canada to re-sell for a profit.
In April 2019, co-conspirators caused two individuals to conduct straw purchases of four guns at the C&E Gun Show at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus.
The men then recruited female drivers to smuggle the firearms across the Canadian border or to bring back money from Canada, according to Patel. In return, the drivers got money and access to drugs and alcohol.
In July 2018, more than $11,000 was seized by law enforcement from two of the defendants on a trip back to Ohio from Canada. Two months later, more than $25,000 in cash was seized from two other defendants at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport.
Individuals related to the conspiracy attempted to travel to Canada several times, but they were stopped by law enforcement.
During each incident, multiple guns were discovered in the vehicles.
Altogether, the men conspired to smuggle more than 200 guns from Ohio to Canada between July 2018 and the middle of 2019. Patel said at least 10 of those guns have been directly traced to crimes in Canada.
Those convicted and sentenced are:
- Abdulwahab Sharif Mohamed Hassan
- Omar Sharif Mohamed Hassan
- Jamil Jamal Abdalla
- Mohamed Abdulkadir Mohamud
- Mohamed Abdi Hirad
- Abdirahim Mahmoud Dualeh
- Shamarke Igal
- Ahmed Ahmed
- Abdiaziz Said Ahmed
- Ibrahim Ali
- Mohamed Sharif Ali Mohamed
The prison sentences range from one to and six years. Mohamed Hassan was sentenced Friday to six years in prison.
