Major Kojo Owusu Dartey and one of the barrels he used to smuggle the guns to Ghana
A Ghanaian soldier serving in the United States (U.S.) Army, Major Kojo Owusu Dartey, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for smuggling firearms from the U.S. to Ghana.
A press statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General for the Eastern District of North Carolina indicated that Major Owusu Dartey was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.
According to the statement, the major was convicted of multiple offenses, including making false statements to a U.S. agency, false declarations before the court, conspiracy, dealing in firearms without a license, delivering firearms without notice to the carrier, smuggling goods from the U.S., and illegally exporting firearms without a license.
Additionally, Major Owusu Dartey, who was a member of the U.S. Special Forces, was found guilty of lying about having sexual relations with one of his witnesses in the case.
“According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Kojo Owusu Dartey, 42, provided a tip that led to the prosecution of a 16-defendant marriage fraud scheme involving soldiers at Fort Liberty and foreign nationals from Ghana. During the trial of U.S. v. Agyapong, held between June 28 and July 2, 2021, Dartey lied to federal law enforcement about his sexual relationship with a defense witness and also committed perjury on the stand,” the statement read in part.
Smuggling operation
The Attorney General’s office also detailed the smuggling operation orchestrated by Major Owusu Dartey.
It stated that the soldier personally acquired some of the firearms while instructing another soldier to purchase additional weapons on his behalf. He then concealed the firearms inside barrels and shipped them to Ghana.
However, officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority intercepted the container carrying the smuggled firearms.
“During that trial, Dartey purchased seven firearms in the Fort Liberty area and instructed a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to purchase three additional firearms and send them to him in North Carolina. Dartey then hid all the firearms inside blue barrels beneath rice and household goods. With assistance from an Army Chief Warrant Officer, he smuggled the barrels out of the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, on a container ship bound for the Port of Tema in Ghana. The Ghana Revenue Authority recovered the firearms and reported the seizure to the DEA attaché in Ghana and the ATF Baltimore Field Division,” the statement added.
Major Owusu Dartey was found guilty in April 2024 of smuggling firearms to Ghana using blue barrels containing rice and household goods.
A report by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, dated April 29, 2024, indicated that Major Kojo Owusu Dartey initially faced a maximum sentence of 240 months in prison.
Read the full report below:
RALEIGH, N.C. – Kojo Owuso Dartey, age 42, of Fort Liberty, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and three years of supervised release for false statements made to an agency of the United States, false declarations before the court, conspiracy, dealing in firearms without a license, delivering firearms without notice to the carrier, smuggling goods from the United States, and illegally exporting firearms without a license. On April 23, 2024, Dartey was found guilty by a jury after trial.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Kojo Owusu Dartey, 42, provided a tip that resulted in a 16-defendant marriage fraud scheme between soldiers on Fort Liberty and foreign nationals from Ghana. In preparation for and at the trial of U.S. v. Agyapong held between June 28 and July 2, 2021, Dartey lied to federal law enforcement about his sexual relationship with a defense witness and lied on the stand and under oath about the relationship. During that trial, Dartey purchased seven firearms in the Fort Liberty area and tasked a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to purchase three firearms there and send them to Dartey in North Carolina. Dartey then hid all the firearms inside blue barrels underneath rice and household goods and with assistance from an Army Chief Warrant Officer smuggled the barrels out of the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, on a container ship to the Port of Tema in Ghana. The Ghana Revenue Authority recovered the firearms and reported the seizure to the DEA attaché in Ghana and the ATF Baltimore Field Division.
Daniel Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol and Firearms (ATF), Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Diaz prosecuted the case.
BAI/MA
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