Three Canadian citizens have been charged with smuggling firearms into Canada from the United States. Akeem Richards-Crawford, 31, Dwayne Harrison, 34, and Jannai Stewart, 35, face charges of conspiracy to smuggle and smuggling firearms and firearm magazines.
United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced the indictment alongside several officials including Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jared Murphey from Homeland Security Investigations Detroit.
According to the indictment, Richards-Crawford and Harrison traveled from Canada to the U.S. in October 2023. They rented a vehicle and hotel room in Detroit before traveling to Houston and Cincinnati to obtain firearms. On October 26, 2023, they drove to Algonac, Michigan with a backpack containing 36 firearms. Harrison then used a jet ski on the St. Clair River to transport the firearms into Canada but mistakenly approached an unmarked police vehicle upon arrival.
Harrison dropped the backpack containing individually wrapped firearms in tube socks when he realized his mistake and fled on foot. Canadian law enforcement recovered the backpack shortly after encountering Stewart nearby following text messages from Harrison.
Each defendant could face up to ten years in prison for each smuggling count and up to five years for conspiracy if convicted.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The investigation involves multiple agencies including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as Canada’s Ontario Provincial Police. The prosecution team includes Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas Salzenstein and Erin Ramamurthy along with Chantelle Dial from the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the United States Department of Justice.
