A Jamaican singer has pleaded guilty to trafficking guns and ammunition from the U.S. to Jamaica, federal prosecutors in Miami said.
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Taugea Ubert Dayes, 33, who performs under his stage name “Countree Hype,” pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling goods from the U.S. and delivering a firearm to a common carrier without written notice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Dayes concealed 30 firearms, 32 magazines, and over 100 rounds of ammunition inside five office chairs back in March of 2025.
The items were wrapped in tinfoil and foam and sewed into the seat cushions before the chairs were shipped to Jamaica, prosecutors said.
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Jamaican authorities later seized the firearms in Kingston.
Dayes, a Jamaican national, faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing.
“Illegal firearms trafficking fuels violence far beyond our borders,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement. “This defendant concealed dozens of firearms inside furniture and attempted to ship them overseas to evade detection and arm the black market in Jamaica. Firearms smuggling is not a paperwork offense. It is a public safety threat that fuels violence, empowers criminal organizations, and destabilizes communities. We will continue working with our international law enforcement partners to stop the flow of illegal weapons at its source.”
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