US CHARGES THREE BUSINESSMEN OVER ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE AMMUNITION TO NIGERIA
A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging three men on charges of conspiracy, violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the Export Reform Control Act, related to the export of firearms and ammunition from the United States to Nigeria.?
Defendants in the case include Wilson Nuyila Tita of Owings Mills, Maryland; Eric Fru Nji of Fort Washington, Maryland; and Wilson Che Fonguh of Bowie, Maryland.
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The indictment was announced on Thursday by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore; and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Jones of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Baltimore Field Division.
According to the four-count indictment, from November 2017 through July 19, 2019, the defendants conspired with each other and with others to export from the United States to Nigeria defence articles and items identified on the United States Munitions List and the Commerce Control List without first obtaining export licenses.
The defendant also allegedly conspired to conceal from the United States that those items were being shipped from the Port of Baltimore in Maryland to Nigeria and at least one other location in Africa.
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It was stated that the defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly contributed funds for the purchase of firearms, ammunition, reloading materials and other equipment for shipping overseas.?
The indictment alleges that the defendants and their co-conspirators communicated about their efforts and plans to ship weapons and ammunition using an online encrypted messaging application and code words to conceal their activities.
As detailed in the indictment, the defendants and other conspirators concealed the firearms, ammunition, rifle scopes, and other items in heavily wrapped packages and duffle bags, and inside sealed compressor units, placing those items into a shipping container destined for Nigeria without obtaining the requisite licenses from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Finally, the indictment alleges that the defendants transported 28 firearms with obliterated serial numbers, including 18 rifles.
If convicted, the defendants each face a mandatory sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy; a maximum of 20 years in federal prison each for violating the Arms Export Control Act and for violating the Export Control Reform Act; and a maximum of five years in federal prison for transportation of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
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