GHANAIAN US ARMY MAJOR KOJO DARTEY ARRESTED FOR SMUGGLING GUNS INTO GHANA, FACES 20-YEAR JAIL TERM
GHANAIAN US ARMY MAJOR KOJO DARTEY ARRESTED FOR SMUGGLING GUNS INTO GHANA, FACES 20-YEAR JAIL TERM
Kojo Owusu Dartey, a Ghanaian army officer residing in the United States, has been found guilty of numerous offenses, including smuggling goods out of the country, dealing in firearms without authorization, delivering firearms without the required notice, illegally exporting firearms, making false statements to a U.S. agency, lying in court, and conspiring.
Dartey will be sentenced on July 23, 2024, and the maximum term he might receive is 240 months.
According to court records and evidence presented by the US Attorney’s Office, Dartey purchased seven weapons in the Fort Liberty area between June 28 and July 2, 2021.
In addition, he asked a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for assistance in obtaining three guns and sending them to him.
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According to reports, Dartey concealed the weapons—which included a battle shotgun, several handguns, an AR15, 50-round magazines, suppressors, and rice—under domestic items and blue barrels.
These barrels were transported illegally to Ghana on a cargo ship that left the Port of Baltimore, Maryland. The guns were taken by the Ghana Revenue Authority, who then notified the Baltimore Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) of the seizure.
Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the verdict before U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Michael Easley made the announcement.
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The matter was looked into by the ATF, Army Criminal Investigation Division, and Office of Export Enforcement of the U.S. Department of Commerce. David Ryan of the DOJ Counterintelligence and Export Control Section provided technical support to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Diaz during the prosecution.
U.S. Attorney Michael Easley stated, “We are working with law enforcement agencies around the world to expose international criminals, from money launderers to rogue international arms traffickers capable of fueling violence abroad.”
This rogue Army Major was found guilty at trial of smuggling firearms into Ghana in blue barrels of rice and household goods, thanks to an alliance with Ghanaian officials. I would like to express my gratitude to the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Office of the Attorney-General of Ghana’s International Cooperation Unit for their invaluable support during this investigation. Additionally,
I also thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Accra, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division for their invaluable support of this case.
Gun trafficking, according to Toni M. Crosby, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Baltimore Field Division, “threatens public safety throughout our nation and beyond.”
“The Ghana Revenue Authority, the Charlotte and Louisville Field Divisions of the ATF, and the Baltimore Field Division are proud to have collaborated on this investigation, which has prevented firearms from being used in numerous killings and other crimes and put an end to this international firearm trafficking scheme.”
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Unexpectedly, during the trial of U.S. v. Agyapong, it was found that Dartey had lied on the stand regarding his sexual involvement with a defense witness.
A marriage fraud scam involving foreign individuals from Ghana and troops stationed at Fort Liberty was the subject of this trial.
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