The United States Justice Department has indicted Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, a Ugandan national and government policy advisor, on charges of conspiring to supply advanced military weaponry to one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels.
According to the unsealed indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia, Katungi — alongside Bulgarian arms trafficker Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Tanzanian national Subiro Osmund Mwapinga — is accused of plotting to provide the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) with an arsenal of high-powered weapons, including machine guns, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft systems.
The CJNG, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the U.S. on February 20, 2025, is one of Mexico’s most dangerous transnational criminal syndicates, notorious for large-scale cocaine trafficking into the United States.
Prosecutors allege that in September 2022, the defendants engaged in a scheme to obtain fraudulent End-User Certificates (EUCs) and other arms control documents to disguise the true destination of the weapons. Mirchev allegedly recruited Asumo, who then brought in Katungi, who in turn recruited Mwapinga. The group is accused of securing an EUC from Tanzania to authorise the importation of AK-47 assault rifles, knowing they were intended for the CJNG.
A test shipment of 50 AK-47 rifles, complete with magazines and ammunition, was allegedly exported from Bulgaria under these false documents. Investigators say the defendants intended to follow this with a far larger supply, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and the ZU-23 anti-aircraft weapon system — an order reportedly valued at €53.7 million (approximately $58 million).
The Justice Department claims the accused met with individuals they believed represented the CJNG to coordinate the arms deals while attempting to avoid detection by international and U.S. law enforcement.
Katungi’s background includes serving as a Deputy Head of Mission at the Uganda High Commission, security logistics officer with the African Union Commission, and security advisor in Tanzania, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. In 2021, he ran unsuccessfully for Member of Parliament for Butemba County, Kyankwanzi District.
The defendants face charges of:
- Conspiracy to distribute cocaine
- Conspiracy to possess firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
- Conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation
If convicted, they could face lengthy prison sentences under U.S. federal law.
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