A NATIONAL cyclist who qualified for the 2016 Olympics has been sentenced to seven years for smuggling guns as an illegal alien in the United States.
Varun Maharajh, 32, was jailed on Wednesday by US District Judge Carlos Mendoza for smuggling firearms overseas and possessing firearms as an unlawful alien.
The court also ordered Maharajh to forfeit the firearms and ammunition seized in the case. Maharajh entered a guilty plea on March 21, 2024.
According to court documents, on June 28, 2022, Maharajh shipped a parcel to London containing a microwave with five concealed pistols inside. The package contained a Taurus G2C pistol, a Glock 17 Gen 5 pistol, two Glock 19 Gen 5 pistols, and 59 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, the US Department of Justice stated.
The serial numbers were obliterated on the firearms and Maharajh used a fake name, “Kelvin Singh,” to ship the package.
On July 18, 2022, Maharajh dropped off a package at a freight forwarding company in Miami. The package was addressed to Trinidad and Tobago and Maharajh worked with an intermediary who filled out the paperwork.
The package contained a tent with two AK-47 style firearms concealed within its folds along with a microwave containing pistols.
All of the serial numbers on the firearms were obliterated. While Maharajh worked with another individual, he did show a fake ID with the name “Kelvin Singh” to the freight forwarding company when he dropped off the package.
Maharajh was arrested in Indian River County on November 19, 2023, and engaged in a high-speed chase on I-95 before totaling his vehicle and attempting to flee on foot.
Maharjh had entered the United States in 2020 and stayed without legal status after he was scheduled to depart. Maharajh was previously a World Cup cyclist for Trinidad and Tobago and qualified for the Olympics in 2016.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case, the Bureau of Industry and Security at the US Department of Commerce, US Customs and Border Protection, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Florida Highway Patrol, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Dana E Hill prosecuted the case.
United States Ambassador Candace Bond said, “This latest conviction represents the commitment of United States law enforcement agencies to collaborate with their Trinidad and Tobago counterparts, including the Transnational Organized Crime Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to arrest, prosecute, and disrupt illicit weapons trafficking networks from the United States.”
