A Kenyan man and three other foreign nationals have been charged in the United States over an alleged scheme to supply advanced military weapons to one of Mexico’s most dangerous drug cartels.
The indictment accuses the group of plotting to arm the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) with high-powered firearms and explosives, using fraudulent documents to disguise the shipments and avoid international detection.
Court filings name the suspects as Elisha Odhiambo Asumo of Kenya, Ugandans Michael Katungi Mpeirwe and Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga.
The weapons listed in the alleged plot include machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, night vision gear, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft systems.
Prosecutors say the accused were aware that the CJNG intended to use the weapons to protect large cocaine shipments bound for the United States.
The cartel was officially classified on February 20, 2025, as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
According to the indictment, Mirchev dealt directly with individuals claiming to represent the CJNG and agreed to arrange weapons transactions while evading law enforcement.
He allegedly enlisted Asumo to secure a corrupt End-User Certificate (EUC) from a country that would conceal the true recipient of the arms. Asumo then brought in Mpeirwe, who recruited Mwapinga.
The group obtained an EUC from Tanzania authorising the import of AK-47 rifles, which was then used to send a test shipment of 50 rifles, along with magazines and ammunition, from Bulgaria to the cartel.
The court documents allege the conspiracy extended to plans for more sophisticated weaponry, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and the LU-23 anti-aircraft system.
“Mirchev allegedly created a list of weaponry for the CJNG totalling approximately 53.7 million Euros (approximately $58 million). Asumo, Mpeirwe, and Mwapinga allegedly agreed to again provide arms control documents designed to obscure that these weapons were intended for the CJNG,” the indictment states.
Records also highlight Mirchev’s past links to Viktor Bout, a convicted arms trafficker who was found guilty in a US court for conspiring to kill Americans, exporting anti-aircraft missiles, and aiding terrorist organisations.
Mirchev was arrested in Madrid, Spain, on April 8 and is awaiting extradition to the US. On the same day, Asumo was detained in Casablanca, Morocco, and is also in extradition proceedings. Mwapinga was arrested in Accra, Ghana, on April 8 and extradited to the US on July 25. Mpeirwe remains at large.
If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, with the possibility of life sentences. Sentencing will be decided by a federal judge under US Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors.
The case was announced by US Attorney Erik S. Siebert and DEA Special Agent in Charge Louis A. D’Ambrosio.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs was instrumental in securing Mwapinga’s extradition, working with the DEA’s Ghana office, Ghana’s Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Police Service, and Narcotics Control Commission. The investigation was led by the DEA’s Special Operations Division with help from the Hellenic National Police in Greece.
The charges are part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at tackling illegal immigration, dismantling cartels, and combating transnational organised crime.
