Man tried to ship guns, thousands of rounds of ammo from Port of Miami to Haiti, feds say

Milena Malaver, Miami Herald on Jul 15, 2025

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MIAMI — An X-ray scan of a cargo container bound for Haiti from the Port of Miami uncovered a cache of undeclared firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition — now the man who attempted to ship them is in federal custody.

Per a federal complaint, Williamson Dossous was arrested on Sunday just before boarding a flight to Haiti. He faces charges of smuggling goods and illegally exporting firearms and ammunition.

The charges stem from a Jan. 16 inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection of a cargo container headed to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. Agents discovered firearms and ammunition concealed in bundles of clothing and wrapped in aluminum foil. The shipment had been labeled as “household goods and personal effects.”

Investigators with the Department of Homeland Security say Dossous didn’t purchase any of the weapons himself — a common tactic used to avoid leaving a paper trail.

In March, federal agents interviewed a woman who bought two of the firearms 37 days before the seizure. She said she was a friend of Dossous and that he had driven her to purchase the guns for protection. Afterward, she left them in his car during a family emergency and never got them back. She claimed Dossous ignored her calls and left town.

Two other guns were traced to Dossous’ son, who purchased them 122 days before the seizure. A third came from a patient at a chiropractic clinic where Dossous is listed as corporate secretary. That woman said she didn’t know how Dossous ended up with the gun, but had heard it was seized during the shipping attempt.

Another weapon was bought by another acquaintance, who claimed it had been in a vehicle during a December 2024 car accident and hadn’t seen it since. He admitted knowing Dossous as someone who frequently shipped goods to Haiti. Flight records show the two traveled together to Cap-Haïtien in July 2023.

In a June 13 interview, Dossous told investigators he has shipped containers to Haiti for over 20 years, averaging two or three per year. He denied any knowledge of firearms in the January shipment.

But around a week later, a confidential source provided authorities with a recorded phone call in which Dossous discussed the shipment and law enforcement’s interest in collecting his DNA. He is heard saying: “They going to get my fingerprints on them [guns] because I touched them… I was there when he was doing the stuff… I know about the guns, I touched the guns.”

Authorities verified the voice as Dossous’ and confirmed the phone number belonged to his girlfriend, with a billing address matching his residence.

Investigators also confirmed Dossous did not hold the export license required to legally ship firearms and ammunition overseas.

Following his arrest at the airport, Dossous reportedly overheard agents discussing another smuggling case and spontaneously said: “I know my prints are going to be on the guns because I touched them. I’m not going to lie about that.”

Dossous appeared before Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid on Monday, where she set his bond at $300,000, which he posted and has since been released on various conditions including handing over his passport.

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