Miami, FL — A Florida man is facing federal charges after authorities uncovered a cache of illegally exported firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition concealed in a shipping container bound for Haiti. The arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny over the illicit flow of U.S. weapons into the Caribbean nation, where gang violence continues to spiral.
According to a federal complaint, Williamson Dossous was taken into custody Sunday at Miami International Airport moments before boarding a flight to Haiti. He is charged with smuggling goods from the United States and illegally exporting firearms and ammunition without a license.
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The investigation began on January 16, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Miami inspected a container labeled “household goods and personal effects,” destined for Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. Inside, X-ray scans revealed a hidden stockpile of firearms and ammunition disguised in bundles of clothing and wrapped in aluminum foil.
Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security say Dossous did not purchase any of the firearms himself — a common tactic to avoid creating a paper trail. Instead, authorities traced several of the seized weapons to friends, relatives, and acquaintances of Dossous:
- A woman interviewed in March told investigators that she had purchased two guns 37 days before the seizure at Dossous’s urging. She claimed he had driven her to buy the weapons “for protection,” but after a family emergency, she left them in his vehicle and never got them back. She said Dossous later ignored her calls and left town.
- Two additional firearms were traced to Dossous’s son, purchased four months before the container was seized.
- Another gun was linked to a patient at a chiropractic clinic where Dossous is listed as corporate secretary. The woman claimed she was unaware of how he obtained the firearm but had heard it was part of the confiscated shipment.
- A final weapon came from an acquaintance who admitted he knew Dossous as someone who regularly shipped goods to Haiti. He said the gun had been inside a vehicle involved in a car accident in December 2024 and hadn’t been seen since. Travel records confirm both men had previously flown together to Cap-Haïtien in July 2023.
During a June 13 interview, Dossous told federal agents he had been shipping containers to Haiti for over 20 years, typically sending two or three annually. He denied any knowledge of weapons in the January shipment.
However, authorities later obtained a recorded phone call from a confidential source, in which Dossous acknowledged handling the firearms.
“They going to get my fingerprints on them [guns] because I touched them… I was there when he was doing the stuff… I know about the guns, I touched the guns,” Dossous reportedly said.
Agents verified the voice as Dossous’s and confirmed that the phone number used in the call belonged to his girlfriend, whose billing address matched Dossous’s residence. Investigators also confirmed that Dossous did not possess the required export license to legally ship firearms and ammunition overseas.
Upon his arrest at the airport, Dossous allegedly made a spontaneous admission after overhearing agents discussing another smuggling case.
“I know my prints are going to be on the guns because I touched them. I’m not going to lie about that,” he reportedly said.
Dossous appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid, who set bail at $300,000. He has since posted bond and was released under multiple conditions, including the surrender of his passport.
The case adds to growing concerns about the role of Florida as a hub in the illegal arms trade fueling gang violence and instability in Haiti. Homeland Security officials and Haitian authorities have repeatedly highlighted the Port of Miami as a critical node in the flow of unregulated weapons to the region.
