A Ugandan national has been indicted by the US government over his alleged role , together with other in a plot to supply weapons worth $58 million( approximately shs2027bn) to a Mexican drug cartel.
Michael Katungi Mpeirwe was indicted together with Bulgarian national Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Tanzanian national Subiro Osmund Mwapinga for allegedly conspiring to supply Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), a violent Mexican drug syndicate with military-grade weapons including machineguns, rocket launchers, grenades, night vision equipment, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft weapons.
The US government designated CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization earlier .
In the indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia, the group is also accused of conspiracy to distribute cocaine to the cartel.
The indictment says the group which also includes the Ugandan believed that the CJNG intended to use these weapons in furtherance of the illegal trafficking of large shipments of cocaine into the United States.
According to the US government, in a series of meetings with individuals claiming to represent the CJNG, the Bulgarian , allegedly agreed to arrange, coordinate, and participate in illegal arms transactions while avoiding detection by international and U.S. law enforcement.
“ Mirchev allegedly recruited Asumo to corruptly obtain an End-User Certificate (EUC) from a nation that would falsely claim a different end-user for the weapons. Asumo recruited Mpeirwe(Ugandan), who recruited Mwapinga. Together, they allegedly obtained an EUC from the United Republic of Tanzania authorizing the importation of AK-47s,” the indictment says.
“ As a test shipment, Mirchev and others then exported 50 AK-47 automatic assault rifles and accompanying magazines and ammunition from Bulgaria, using the EUC provided by Asumo, Mpeirwe, and Mwapinga, and intending that the weapons were actually received by the CJNG.”
The group allegedly continued to conspire to supply drug cartels with even more weaponry, potentially including surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and the ZU-23 anti-aircraft weapon system.
The Bulgarian allegedly created a list of weaponry for the CJNG totaling approximately 53.7 million Euros (approximately $58 million U.S.).
Asumo, Mpeirwe, and Mwapinga allegedly agreed to again provide arms control documents designed to obscure that these weapons were intended for the CJNG.
According to court records, Mirchev was previously implicated in supplying arms to Victor Bout who was convicted at trial of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals, conspiring to kill U.S. officers and employees, conspiring to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles; and conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization in case 1:08-cr-365 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Mirchev was arrested by Spanish authorities in Madrid on April 8 and is currently pending extradition to the United States.
Asumo was arrested by Moroccan authorities in Casablanca on April 8 and is currently in extradition proceedings. Mwapinga was arrested by Ghanaian authorities in Accra on April 8 and was extradited to the United States on July 25.
However, the Ugandan remains at large.
If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties,” court documents from the US said.
