Four residents of the Akwesasne Mohawk territory that crosses into Quebec from New York, U.S., have pleaded guilty to federal firearms offences in connection with an international firearms trafficking conspiracy. “The investigation uncovered that members of the conspiracy trafficked firearms into Canada while also trafficking narcotics and humans into the United States,” explained the District of New Hampshire’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. The men involved were identified as Conrad Oakes, 25; Tayson Terrance, 24; Ranonkwatseronhawi Gibson, 22; and Montana Cook, 27. They pleaded guilty between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9 to “conspiracy to commit straw purchasing of firearms and conspiracy to traffic firearms.” “These defendants have admitted to operating a sophisticated firearms trafficking network that exploited New Hampshire gun dealers, straw purchasers and the international border to move dozens of firearms into Canada, facilitating further trafficking crime and violent crimes,” said Erin Creegan, United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire. Five other co-conspirators, Justin Jackson, Melissa Longe, Dustin Tuttle, Caleb Wilcott and Doug Mulligan, have already pleaded guilty to firearms offences. The arrests of the four men come after a firearm was recovered by Montreal police (SPVM) as part of a search warrant executed in a kidnapping investigation. “[The] SPVM recovered a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which they were able to restore,” officials said. “This firearm was purchased by defendant and co-conspirator Dustin Tuttle in New Hampshire. Subsequent investigation revealed a larger conspiracy to smuggle weapons from New Hampshire to Vermont, New York and ultimately, to Canada.” The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that one of the defendants used jet skis to smuggle contraband, including straw-purchased firearms, from the New York side of Akwesasne to Cornwall Island. They would meet with someone whose job was to then ferry the contraband through the checkpoint and into Canada. “Drugs, humans and guns were trafficked to and from Canada utilizing Cornwall Island,” officials explained. READ MORE: They note that at least 51 firearms were identified as being trafficked from New Hampshire to Canada through Vermont and the Akwesasne reservation. Ten of these guns were subsequently recovered at various Canadian crime scenes, including at the site of an attempted shooting in a parking lot in Montreal. “These guilty pleas demonstrate the serious consequences of trafficking firearms across international borders and into communities where they can fuel violent crime,” said Bryan DiGirolamo, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New York Field Division. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the charge of conspiracy to straw-purchase firearms provides for a maximum prison term of 25 years, a maximum fine of $250,000 and five years of supervised release. The charge of conspiracy to traffic firearms provides for a maximum prison term of 15 years, a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. The four men are expected to be sentenced in February 2027.
