A Ugandan national, Michael Katungi, has been indicted by the US government over his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to supply military-grade weapons worth $58 million (about Shs203 billion) to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), a notorious Mexican drug syndicate.
Katungi faces charges alongside Bulgarian national Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga. They are accused of conspiring to provide CJNG with a wide arsenal including machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, night vision equipment, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft weapons.
The US government officially designated CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization earlier.
In the indictment filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, the group is also accused of conspiracy to distribute cocaine to the cartel within the United States.
According to court documents, the group—including Katungi—is believed to have understood that these weapons would be used to facilitate large-scale illegal cocaine trafficking into the US.
The indictment details a scheme where Mirchev allegedly coordinated with others to arrange arms deals while evading detection by US and international law enforcement. Mirchev reportedly recruited Asumo to corruptly obtain an End-User Certificate (EUC) from a country that falsely declared a different end-user for the weapons. Asumo then recruited Katungi, who in turn recruited Mwapinga.
Together, they allegedly secured an EUC from Tanzania authorizing the import of AK-47 rifles.
“As a test shipment, Mirchev and others exported 50 AK-47 assault rifles with magazines and ammunition from Bulgaria using the EUC provided by Asumo, Katungi, and Mwapinga, with the intention that these weapons were delivered to CJNG,” the indictment states.
The conspiracy allegedly extended to plans for supplying even more sophisticated weaponry, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and the ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun system.
Mirchev reportedly prepared a weapons list for CJNG totaling approximately 53.7 million Euros (about $58 million US).
Asumo, Katungi, and Mwapinga allegedly agreed to provide falsified arms control documents to obscure the weapons’ true destination.
Records reveal Mirchev’s previous implication in supplying arms to Viktor Bout, a convicted international arms trafficker, in a high-profile US case involving conspiracy to kill US nationals and employees, and exporting anti-aircraft missiles to terrorist organizations.
Mirchev was arrested by Spanish authorities in Madrid on April 8 and awaits extradition to the US. Asumo was arrested in Casablanca by Moroccan authorities the same day and is currently undergoing extradition proceedings. Mwapinga was arrested in Accra by Ghanaian authorities on April 8 and extradited to the US on July 25.
Michael Katungi remains at large.
When contacted, a local news outlet Chimpreports quoted Katungi denying the charges, saying: “Ignore with contempt deserved. Mere accusations.”
If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life imprisonment. However, federal sentences often fall below the maximum.
The report comes just hours after the US government extradited four Ghanaian nationals to face charges in Washington DC for their alleged roles in fake romance transactions and email scam.
It remains to be seen if Katungi will face a similar fate.
He is known to be well connected in Uganda's top security circles.