Transnational 'firearm pipeline' between US, Canada through Mohawk nation busted, feds say

Flint McColgan, Boston Herald on May 14, 2026

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Federal authorities announced they uprooted a “firearm pipeline” that moved guns from New Hampshire into Canada by way of a Mohawk tribal nation straddling the international border.

Authorities say that some of the weapons were traced to murders and kidnappings in Canada. They say that purchased made in the U.S. were then passed through the Akwesasne Mohawk tribal nation, which straddles the borders of New York state and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire Erin Creegan said at a press conference in Concord that defendant Justin Jackson orchestrated a “firearm pipeline” that placed guns purchased in straw sales in New Hampshire into the hands of Canadian criminals.

“Let me be clear. Straw purchases have real consequences,” Creegan said. “If you lie on the forms and purchase firearms on behalf of another person, you are not only committing a federal crime yourself, you are potentially placing weapons in the hands of violent criminals.”

Jackson was indicted in February with one count each of conspiracy to straw purchase and firearms trafficking conspiracy in a case originally investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Boston ATF Special agent in Charge Thomas Greco said that the multifaceted case, which identified the trafficking of 51 guns, some of which were involved in murders and kidnappings in Canada, “reflects the complexity of cross-border arms trafficking.”

On Thursday, Creegan and Greco as well as other authorities, including police chiefs for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police and Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, announced that eight people had been charged in the international gunsmuggling ring. Five of them have pleaded guilty to their roles.

A memo filed in Jackson’s case outlines that Jackson, who could not legally purchase firearms himself, used two co defendants, Melissa Longe and Dustin Tuttle, to purchase firearms on his behalf, for which he would pay them a fee of $100 per gun.

Jackson allegedly told authorities “that he was trafficking the firearms to make money because he was afraid of losing his house,” the detention document states.

A Glock Model 26 pistol recovered by police in Montreal, Canada, as part of a kidnapping investigation was traced and found to have been purchased by Tuttle at American Trikes & Motorsports in Keene, New Hampshire, in October 2023, according to the detention memo.

That same memo states that six firearms “recovered as part of various criminal investigations in Canada” were traced to purchases made by Longe.

While authorities on Thursday announced that 51 guns had been identified as part of the operation, the February indictment includes a list of 44 guns, meaning more have been identified as the investigation continues.