The US indicts Ugandan, Kenyan alongside two other foreign nationals in a high-profile arms trafficking case linked to Mexico’s Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). This cartel is among the most violent and powerful criminal groups in the world.
Ugandan national Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, Tanzanian national Subiro Osmund Mwapinga, and Bulgarian national Peter Dimitrov Mirchev allegedly conspired to supply CJNG with military-grade weapons. The planned shipment included machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft systems.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Mirchev met people posing as CJNG representatives and agreed to arrange the arms deals. He recruited Asumo, who then brought in Mpeirwe. Mpeirwe later enlisted Mwapinga. Together, they used a fraudulent End-User Certificate from Tanzania to hide the weapons’ real destination. As a result, they sent a test shipment of 50 AK-47 rifles, magazines, and ammunition from Bulgaria, intending CJNG to receive them.
Furthermore, the US indicts Ugandan, Kenyan suspects for planning a larger deal worth €53.7 million ($58 million USD). The list included surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and ZU-23 systems. Prosecutors also say Mirchev has past links to Viktor Bout, the notorious Russian arms dealer convicted in the U.S. of supplying weapons to terrorists.
In April 2025, coordinated arrests took place across several countries. Authorities detained Mirchev in Madrid, Spain, and Asumo in Casablanca, Morocco. They captured Mwapinga in Accra, Ghana, and later extradited him to the U.S. Mpeirwe remains on the run. If convicted, each suspect faces between 10 years and life in prison.
This case forms part of Operation Take Back America, a U.S. Department of Justice effort to dismantle cartels and transnational crime networks. It involved the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the Hellenic National Police in Greece, and Ghanaian law enforcement. U.S. officials warn that arms trafficking to CJNG fuels drug violence, strengthens organized crime, and destabilizes entire regions.
