A gun dealer who pocketed millions from selling weapons to criminals in his native Brazil was sentenced to about 13 years in prison on for smuggling more than 1,000 firearms — including assault-style rifles hidden in water heaters shipped from Miami to Rio de Janeiro.
Frederik Barbieri, 47, who was arrested with a cache of weapons at his Florida home, admitted in Miami federal court that he exported high-powered rifles with obliterated serial numbers to Brazil, where guns are sold on the black market to street gangs and drug traffickers in the favelas, or slums, of urban areas. Barbieri appeared on the feds’ radar after one of his loads was confiscated last year at Rio de Janeiro’s airport.
Barbieri, who was born in Brazil and became a naturalized US citizen, faced a maximum of 25 years in prison on two charges to which he pleaded guilty in May: conspiracy to smuggle weapons to a foreign country and violations of firearm export licensing laws.
US District Judge Federico Moreno gave him a slight break under the sentencing guidelines for his conviction because Barbieri has assisted federal and Brazilian authorities in the massive gun-smuggling investigation. Barbieri’s defense attorney said he was helping Brazilian investigators target a high-ranking police officer in the South American country who extorted about $1 million from him. In fact, a Brazilian investigator sat next to U.S. agents in the courtroom during Barbieri’s sentencing.
