South Florida Firearms Smuggler Sentenced to Prison
MIAMI – Firearms trafficker Jorge Chica-Giler, 28, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez to 262 months in prison for smuggling firearms from the United States to Ecuador.
Chica-Giler conspired to deal in, and smuggle, firearms out of the United States by directing co-conspirators to purchase firearms on his behalf, hide the firearms inside compressed air tanks, and send the firearms to a co-conspirator in Ecuador. Chica-Giler admitted to making eight shipments totaling at least 35 firearms, including several assault-rifles.
Co-defendants Rolando Alexei Pupo-Abrahantes and Nicolas Ayala assisted Chica-Giler in the conspiracy to smuggle firearms to Ecuador.
On the morning of the trial, Chica-Giler pled guilty directly to the court without a plea agreement. He admitted to his role in the conspiracy and to dealing firearms without a license, smuggling firearms from the United States, delivery of a firearm to a common carrier without written notification, and possession of a firearm by an unlawful alien.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office; and acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
HSI, Fort Pierce, and ATF, Fort Pierce, investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, Miami Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Hudock and Justin Hoover prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 21-cr-14035.
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