Arms trafficking for CJNG cartel: final suspect extradited following arrest in Casablanca
Ugandan Michael Katungi Mpweire appeared before American federal justice following his extradition, concluding an international manhunt linked to the Mexican CJNG cartel.
Extradition of final suspect in weapons network supplying Mexican CJNG cartel
Michael Katungi Mpweire, a 45-year-old Ugandan, appeared on 8 October before a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, according to bladi.net. He is the last of four suspects prosecuted in a vast arms trafficking case targeting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico's principal criminal organisations. He is accused of cocaine trafficking, trafficking in military weapons, and material support to a terrorist organisation.
The international investigation reached a decisive turning point in April 2025, with the arrest in Casablanca of Kenyan Elisha Odhiambo Asumo. The General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) conducted this operation jointly with American authorities. Asumo was subsequently extradited to the United States in March 2026.
Two other network members were arrested at the same time: Bulgarian Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, arrested in Madrid, and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga, apprehended in Ghana. Ugandan Mpweire was until now the only one to have escaped American prosecution.
According to the American Ministry of Justice, the four men allegedly attempted, from September 2022 onwards, to supply military weaponry to the CJNG. The network is notably accused of having used false end-user certificates to organise the shipment of 50 AK-47 assault rifles from Bulgaria. The group's ambitions extended considerably further: the catalogue established by the network included machine guns, rocket launchers, anti-personnel mines, anti-aircraft drones, and surface-to-air missiles, with a total estimated value of 58 million dollars.
Asumo and Mwapinga pleaded guilty to conspiracy related to cocaine trafficking, in July and September 2026 respectively, and are now awaiting sentencing. Michael Katungi Mpweire faces a minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment, which could extend to life imprisonment.
In its statement of 8 October, the American federal prosecutor's office again praised the contribution of Moroccan authorities, expressly naming the DGSN and DGST among the partners who facilitated the investigation and successive extraditions.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)