According to federal officials, a man reported to be carrying personal items from PortMiami in a container destined for Haiti, but he was actually attempting to ship a stash of disguised guns.
In a federal criminal complaint, a Homeland Security Investigations investigator reported ten pistols discovered in the shipping container, along with 18 firearm magazines and more than 2,200 rounds of ammunition.
They stated that Williamson Dossous was the man indicated on the shipping documentation.
Dossous, 50, of Cape Coral, appeared in Miami federal court on two felony accusations Monday, one day after authorities said they apprehended him as he attempted to board an aircraft from Miami to Haiti. The probe began months ago.
According to court filings, on January 16, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at PortMiami inspected a shipping container destined for Cap-Haïtien.
According to the federal criminal complaint, agents “discovered anomalies within bundles of apparent clothing inside the cargo container,” and additional inspection “revealed that multiple firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories had been wrapped and concealed in aluminum foil among the clothing.”
Authorities stated that Dossous was designated as the shipper, and the contents of the container were described as “a lot of used household goods and personal effects.”
Authorities stated that while Dossous did not purchase any of the firearms, individuals with “personal connections” to him purchased many of them. Agents said one of those people said Dossous “had driven her to both gun stores” to purchase two of the firearms.
Two additional were purchased by Dossous’ son, and another by “a patient at a chiropractic center,” where Dossous is identified as a corporation secretary, according to investigators.
On June 13, authorities interviewed Dossous, who “acknowledged that he has been shipping cargo containers to Haiti for over 20 years and estimated that he ships approximately 2–3 containers per year.”
“He claimed that he was not aware that any of his recent shipments contained firearms or ammunition,” according to the lawsuit.
However, authorities stated that a confidential informant gave them a recorded phone call in which they “discussed law enforcement’s attempts to obtain (his) DNA after questioning him about the January 2025 seizure.”
According to the lawsuit, Dossous stated, “They will have my fingerprints on them (weapons) since I touched them… because I was present while he was performing the stuff… I know about the firearms; I’ve touched them.”
After being apprehended at Miami International Airport on Sunday, authorities stated that during the medical clearance process, Dossous “apparently (overheard)” a conversation among agents about the “next steps in a separate smuggling investigation” and said, “I know my prints are going to be on the guns because I touched them.” “I am not going to lie about that.”
Dossous was eventually transferred north to Broward County and placed into jail on behalf of the US Marshals Service, where he faced federal accusations of smuggling items from the United States and delivering firearms and ammunition to a common carrier without notice.
In court on Monday, he paid a $300,000 personal surety bond. Dossous was obliged to surrender his passport, refrain from accessing “commercial transportation establishment(s),” and adhere to a home curfew, among other things, as part of his bond conditions.