KAMPALA, Aug 10 (AGCNewsNet) – The United States has indicted a Ugandan national, Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, for his alleged role in a $58 million international conspiracy to supply military-grade weapons to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a Mexican drug syndicate formally designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year.

According to court documents unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia, Mpeirwe conspired to provide the cartel with an array of advanced weaponry, including machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, night vision devices, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft weapons.

Investigators detailed efforts by the group to secure falsified arms control documents to conceal the true destination of the shipments. A test consignment consisting of 50 AK-47 assault rifles was reportedly shipped from Bulgaria. Mpeirwe faces charges alongside Bulgarian national Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga.

Plans extended to supplying surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and the ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun system, according to prosecutors.

Following the cartel’s terrorist designation in February, arms sales to the CJNG violate U.S. and international laws. If convicted, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life imprisonment.

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