Producer Countree Hype Pleads Guilty In Miami To Smuggling 30 Guns To Jamaica
Producer Countree Hype has pleaded guilty in a Miami federal case accusing him of smuggling 30 firearms and ammunition from Florida to Jamaica inside office chairs.
Countree Hype, whose given name is Taugea Ubert Dayes, entered guilty pleas to two counts: smuggling goods from the United States and delivering a firearm to a common carrier without written notification, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and court filings seen by DancehallMag.
The 33-year-old producer is best known for Alkaline’s 2020 track Cree, which appeared on the Dengue Riddim, and Intence’s 2021 hit Yahoo Boyz. He hailed from Spalding in Manchester, Jamaica, and had maintained a home studio in Florida.
The case stems from a March 2025 shipment that Jamaican law enforcement later intercepted in Kingston.
In a factual proffer signed as part of the plea, prosecutors said authorities seized “thirty (30) various firearms, thirty-two (32) magazines and 102 rounds of ammunition” that were “concealed in five (5) ergonomic office chairs sealed in their original packaging boxes.”
Prosecutors said shipping records tied the March 10, 2025 shipment to Ideal Freight Consolidators in Miami and to chairs bought from a Walmart in Hialeah. They said Countree Hype purchased five chairs, along with spray foam, glue, staples, and packing tape, before taking the items to Ideal Freight for shipment to Kingston under the fake name “Jaime Roberts.”
He allegedly described the shipment as “groceries” for “Brad James” and did not disclose that the chairs contained firearms and ammunition.
The guns, according to the proffer, were “discovered sewn into the seat cushions of the office chairs” and were individually wrapped in foam and tinfoil. Prosecutors said about six of the firearms either had no serial number or had numbers that appeared to be obliterated.
“Illegal firearms trafficking fuels violence far beyond our borders,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This defendant concealed dozens of firearms inside furniture and attempted to ship them overseas to evade detection and arm the black market in Jamaica. Firearms smuggling is not a paperwork offense. It is a public safety threat that fuels violence, empowers criminal organizations, and destabilizes communities. We will continue working with our international law enforcement partners to stop the flow of illegal weapons at its source.”
Hype was arrested on August 11, 2025, and later released on a $150,000 personal surety bond with 10% cash. He was also placed on GPS monitoring with a daily curfew from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
The guilty plea exposes the producer to a maximum of 10 years in prison on the smuggling count and up to five years on the firearm-carrier count. Each count also carries up to three years of supervised release and a possible $250,000 fine.
His lawyer, Michael B. Cohen, has asked the court for a sentence of no more than 35 months, arguing that the guideline range calculated by probation — 18 to 70 months — “seriously overstates Mr. Dayes’ conduct in this case.”
Cohen contended that Hype “merely transported the firearms at issue.”
The lawyer also pointed to Hype’s background, saying he has earned degrees in cooking and nursing and is a “self-made music producer.”
The defense filing also noted that he had a limited criminal history, accepted responsibility, and will be deported after serving his sentence.
Judge Roy K. Altman has set sentencing for June 8, 2026, at 11 a.m. in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.