US Army major jailed for smuggling firearms to Ghana

US Army major jailed for smuggling firearms to Ghana

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.

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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.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:23-cr-00165-M-RJ-1

US Army major jailed for smuggling firearms to Ghana