International Gun Smuggler Sentenced To More Than Three Years In Federal Prison

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza has sentenced Chrissie Fier Williams (39, Kissimmee) to three years and one month in federal prison for smuggling firearms internationally. Williams entered a guilty plea on January 2, 2024. 

According to court documents, on five separate occasions from January 28, 2021, through October 4, 2022, Williams prepared packages with household items to be sent to Trinidad and Tobago. Williams concealed numerous firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition inside those packages, prepared fake shipping manifests to conceal the contents, and paid “straw shippers” to deliver the packages under their names. Inside these packages, Williams concealed completed pistols and AR-style rifles, parts that could be readily assembled into completed guns, extended magazines including a 65-round drum magazine and a 100-round drum magazine, and ammunition to match the firearms being smuggled.     

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.