ORLANDO, Fla. — A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Orlando investigation has led to a guilty plea for an Apopka man for smuggling firearms, parts and ammunition inside a kitchen appliance.
Yessen Vasquez Tolentino, 37, of Apopka, has pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling goods from the United States, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Vasquez Tolentino arranged for a freight forwarding company to pick up a refrigerator that he knew contained multiple firearms, firearms parts, and rounds of ammunition concealed inside its main door and freezer door, and to ship the refrigerator to the Dominican Republic.
More than 140 rounds of ammunition, 17 firearms and 33 firearms parts bound for the Dominican Republic were discovered concealed inside a refrigerator’s main and freezer doors.
The defendant agreed to forfeit the 17 firearms, 33 firearms parts, and over 140 rounds of ammunition that were found inside the refrigerator.
This case was investigated by HSI Orlando and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.