TAMPA, Fla. – Ricardo Fermin Sune-Giron, 34, has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for his role in a large-scale firearms trafficking operation. U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington handed down the sentence after Sune-Giron pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in firearms, gun trafficking, dealing in firearms without a license, and possessing firearms as an illegal alien.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Sune-Giron to forfeit all firearms and ammunition seized from his residence.
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According to the plea agreement, between 2023 and April 2024, Sune-Giron was a key figure in a network that illegally purchased and smuggled firearms overseas. He recruited “straw purchasers” to buy Glocks, rifles, and AK-47s from licensed federal firearms dealers across Florida. These firearms were then shipped to countries including the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Sune-Giron and his co-conspirators trafficked more than 1,000 firearms during this period. Several of these weapons were later recovered at crime scenes.
On April 18, 2024, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed search warrants at three residences in the Orlando area, including Sune-Giron’s.
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During the search of his residence, agents recovered approximately 57 firearms, 30 empty gun boxes, approximately $16,000 in cash, ammunition, and money counters.
Sune-Giron was living in the United States illegally under an assumed name at the time of his arrest.
The case was investigated by the ATF and HSI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Diego F. Novaes and Noah P. Dorman.
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