Jermaine Rhoomes, the Jamaican man imprisoned in the United States for gun trafficking has blamed talkative associates for his exposure and eventual capture.

On Wednesday, Rhoomes was sentenced in a Florida court to four years and nine months for several offences in relation to a 2017 shipment of 15 guns and 3,000 rounds of ammunition to Kingston, Jamaica.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to the crimes.

In his plea agreement with the United States Middle District of Florida and the US Attorney's Office, a copy of which has been obtained by The Gleaner, Rhoomes is reported to have told an associate that his arms scheme was intercepted because of some players.

"My thing bust because certain men do not keep their mouth shut … this is how they knew something was supposed to come in," he said sometime between July and December 2017.

According to the document, Rhoomes also spoke to someone who asked what should be said to the people who had ordered the weapons and ammunition and what will he do with any remaining guns he might have had in the aftermath of the “loss”.

 
"Man, I don’t have any of those things beside me right now, you know. I got rid of all of them right now, you know. I’m not even thinking of touching any of those things … I got rid of everything," Rhoomes replied.

He continued: "You need to tell every man that they have to wait … right now some things have gotten f**ked. And right now, everything is on lockdown," he said.

Jamaica's director of public prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn was in Tampa, Florida at the sentencing to provide a witness impact statement on the illegal arms trade in Jamaica.

She told the court that more than 3,000 lives would have been saved with the interception of the shipment in a country known for reggae music and athletic prowess, but which was being scarred by violent crimes.

Meanwhile, in the plea agreement, prosecutors said Rhoomes was captured giving advice on how to ship weapons to pass through customs undetected.

“I am going to tell you how to do them. Break them in two, wrap them up," he said.

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How the scheme worked

After a 2017 gun bust at Kingston port, law enforcement authorities found rice, sugar and flour at the Florida apartment of arms trafficker Jermaine Rhoomes similar to ones that were packed in a barrel he had sent to Jamaica with the weapons and ammunition.

The plea agreement between him and the US Government details how the Jamaican, from March 2016 through to February 28, 2018 knowingly exported firearms, firearm components and ammunition.

Rhoomes, using the alias 'Craig Hall' and a false address, sent a shipment from Coral Spring, Florida to Jamaica which was declared on the paperwork as an amplifier.  
 
On March 30, 2016, Rhoomes sent another shipment to Jamaica with the same identification information and declaration labelled as audio equipment but which were in fact a Ruger pistol, an Olympic MF AR15-style assault rifle and four firearm magazines that fit 5.56, 7.62 and a point 45-calibre firearms.
 

Before that though, on March 24, 2016, Rhoomes had received a payment through MoneyGram from an unnamed individual in Jamaica who was the intended recipient of the guns and ammunition.
 
Then, on July 13, 2017, Rhoomes, using the alias 'Roy Ricketts', a false address and a false phone number, sent a shipment to Jamaica which was declared as food.
 
But when the shipment was intercepted in Jamaica on July 17, 2017, it was in fact found to be was a blue 55-gallon shipping barrel with 7.62-calibre AK47-style rifles; five 5.56-calibre AR15-style rifles; four 9mm-calibre pistols; two point 40-calibre pistols; two point 45 calibre pistols and 3, 3115 rounds of ammunition and 38 firearms magazines.
 
"Most, if not all, of the firearms had been partially disassembled, wrapped in green cellophane, and commingled with common food items like bags of flour and sugar," the plea agreement noted.
 

Rhoomes who pleaded guilty in relation to a shipment of 15 guns and ammunition to Jamaica has been sentenced to 57 months in a United States prison.
 
His sentence marks the culmination of a joint investigation between the Jamaican police and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.
 
Rhoomes had been living illegally in the United States.
 
In May 2008, he was deported from the United Kingdom to Jamaica after two drug-related convictions in April 2002 and February 2006, according to police sources.
 
But months later, he reportedly ‘moved’ to the US and was arrested on drug charges in Florida in February 2018.

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