Below is the official statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida regarding the sentencing of a Cape Coral man involved in gun trafficking.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Kyle Dudek sentenced Derrick Desir, 28, Cape Coral, to three years and 10 months in federal prison for his role in a gun-trafficking conspiracy. Desir pled guilty on July 23, 2025, to charges of conspiracy to make false statements to a gun trafficker and making false statements to a gun trafficker.
In May 2022, Desir took part in a conspiracy to “straw buy” handguns on behalf of others, according to court records. In June 2022, Desir worked with another co-conspirator to purchase approximately 12 Glock handguns in seven transactions from six federally licensed firearms dealers in Lee County. When purchasing these firearms, Desir falsely declared to each firearms dealer that he was the “actual purchaser or transferee” of the firearms, knowing that the firearms he was purchasing would be trafficked into Canada by others. At least five of the 12 handguns purchased by Desir during the conspiracy were subsequently recovered in Canada during various investigations by Canadian law enforcement agencies.
The incident was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Department of Homeland Security. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon Ess.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide effort to mobilize the Department of Justice’s efforts to repel illegal immigration, achieve the complete elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Reclaim America streamlines the efforts and resources of the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
