He was in the U.S. on a student visa from Kuwait and faces deportation after he is released from prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.

TAMPA – A former University of Tampa student has been sentenced to federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Faisal Buarki, 23, of Tampa, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for possession of firearms by an alien who was admitted under a non-immigrant visa. Buarki pleaded guilty June 3.

According to court documents, in February, officers from the Tampa Police Department conducted a traffic stop of a car that Buarki was driving in south Tampa because of a mismatched license plate.

A subsequent search of the car’s passenger area revealed two bullets on the front floorboard, a small amount of marijuana, and MDMA. Officers said they also found two handguns among Buarki’s possessions in the trunk, including a Glock .23 40-caliber pistol, containing 18 rounds of ammunition in the magazine, and an FNX-9 9mm pistol, both of which had been previously reported stolen. Buarki later admitted that he had possessed the two guns.

Under federal law, Buarki, who had been admitted to the U.S. from Kuwait on an F1 non-immigrant visa to study at the University of Tampa, was prohibited from possessing any firearms while he lived in the U.S. Buarki’s status in the U.S. has since been terminated, and he faces removal from the U.S. upon his release from custody.

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