A Tanzanian national, Subiro Osmund Mwapinga, has been extradited to the United States to face trial over a multi-million-dollar conspiracy to supply military-grade weapons to the notorious Mexican drug cartel Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
The case, unsealed in late July 2025, involves four foreign suspects accused of attempting to funnel $58 million worth of arms including anti-aircraft guns, rocket launchers, machine guns, and sniper rifles to the cartel, which the U.S. designates as a foreign terrorist organization.
Mwapinga was arrested in Accra, Ghana, on April 8, 2025, after an urgent Interpol alert and intelligence from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
He was extradited to the U.S. on July 25. He will stand trial alongside co-defendants including Ugandan Lt (rtd) Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, Kenyan Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Bulgarian arms broker Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, who is awaiting extradition in Spain. Mpeirwe remains at large.
The conspiracy reportedly began in late 2022 when Mirchev recruited Asumo, who brought in Mpeirwe, who in turn enlisted Mwapinga’s help. Mwapinga’s role focused on procuring a fraudulent Tanzanian End-User Certificate (EUC) to mask an initial “test shipment” of 50 AK-47 rifles as intended for Tanzanian security forces.
This shipment was blocked, but served as a precursor to a broader arms deal planned for the cartel.
Court documents reveal the cartel’s wishlist included not only small arms but sophisticated weaponry such as the ZU-23 anti-aircraft system capable of targeting low-flying aircraft and drones.
The group sought to falsify export documentation to disguise the true destination and intent of the shipments, aiming to bolster the cartel’s violent operations that have caused widespread killings and attacks in Mexico and internationally.
U.S. authorities describe this case as part of Operation Take Back America, a strategic campaign to dismantle drug cartels and protect American communities from violent crime and illegal immigration.
Prosecutors state the arms were intended to strengthen the cartel’s drug trafficking activities, which span the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The Tanzanian government is actively monitoring the case following official notification of Mwapinga’s extradition. Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life imprisonment if convicted.
This case highlights the challenges of transnational crime, the use of forged documents to circumvent arms control, and the critical role of international law enforcement cooperation.
It also brings attention to the involvement of East African nationals in global illicit networks and the U.S. justice system’s resolve to pursue accountability.
