Former Trinidad cyclist Varun Maharajh sentenced to 7 years in US prison for gun smuggling

Former Trinidadian cyclist Varun Maharajh has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the US for smuggling firearms abroad and possessing firearms as an illegal alien.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported that Maharjh pleaded guilty to the charges on March 21, 2024.

The court also ordered Maharajh to confiscate the firearms and ammunition seized in the case.

According to court documents, on June 28, 2022, Maharajh mailed a package to London containing a microwave oven with five concealed handguns inside. The package contained a Taurus G2C pistol, a Glock 17 Gen 5 pistol, two Glock 19 Gen 5 pistols, and 59 rounds of 9mm ammunition. The serial numbers on the firearms had been blacked out and Maharajh used a false name, “Kelvin Singh,” to mail the package.

On July 18, 2022, Maharajh dropped off a package at a freight forwarding company in Miami. The package was addressed to Trinidad and Tobago and Maharajh worked with an intermediary who filled out the paperwork.

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According to the press release, the package contained a tent with two AK-47-style firearms hidden in the folds and a microwave with pistols.

U.S. officials said that Maharajh, although working with another person, showed a fake ID with the name “Kelvin Singh” to the shipping company when he delivered the package.

Maharajh was arrested in Indian River County on November 19, 2023 and became involved in a high-speed chase on I-95 before totaling his vehicle and attempting to flee on foot.

Maharajh is believed to have entered the United States in 2020 and remained without legal status. Maharajh was previously a World Cup cyclist for Trinidad and Tobago and qualified for the 2016 Olympics.

US Ambassador Candace Bond said: “This latest conviction represents the commitment of US law enforcement agencies to work with their counterparts in Trinidad and Tobago, including the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Transnational Organized Crime Unit, to arrest, prosecute and disrupt illicit arms trafficking networks originating in the United States.”