Port St. Lucie man indicted on weapons charges

MIAMI – A Port St. Lucie man was indicted on charges related to the illegal exportation of firearms, firearms accessories and ammunition. The indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami and Brazil;  the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, along with the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police, the Brazilian Federal Police, the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the Brazilian Customs Service.

Frederik Barbieri, 36, of Ft. Pierce, Florida, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, one count of delivering firearms to a contract carrier without notification, that shipment contained firearms, one count of smuggling firearms and fire accessories from the United States to Brazil and one count of exporting firearms and firearms accessories without a license.

According to court documents, Barbieri entered into a conspiracy to illegally export firearms to Brazil without a license, which lasted from May 2013 to June 2017. Barbieri and his co-conspirators purchased firearms, firearms accessories and ammunition, obliterated the serial numbers and concealed the weapons, the accessories and the ammunition in different packages.

Barbieri and his co-conspirators would then ship the packages to Brazil, where Barbieri and his co-conspirators would sell such firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition at a profit. It is further alleged that on May 26, Barbieri shipped a package concealing firearms and firearms accessories to Brazil without obtaining a license to export those items and without notifying the contract carrier that the package contained firearms.

If convicted, Barbieri faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years on Counts 1 and 2, a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years on Count 3, and a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years on Count 4. 

An indictment is only an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.