The US government formally charged a Bulgarian citizen, a Kenyan citizen, a Ugandan citizen, and a Tanzanian citizen with arms trafficking for participating in a complex international scheme to supply rifles, antipersonnel mines, night vision equipment, anti-aircraft equipment, and even missiles to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Mexico.
Investigations indicate that the network may have provided approximately $58 million in weapons and equipment to the Mexican criminal network.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), since at least September 2022, Bulgarian Peter Dimitrov Mirchey, in alliance with Kenyan Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, Ugandan Michael Katungi Mpeirwe, and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga, conspired together to illegally supply weapons to Mexican cartels, particularly the CJNG, one of the criminal organizations designated as terrorists by the Donald Trump administration.
Peter Mirchev is currently identified as a 25-year-old Bulgarian arms dealer whose right-hand man is Elisha Asumo, a Kenyan who has long known Mirchev and who obtains user certificates through bribes to various authorities in African countries.
Michael Mpeirwe, on the other hand, is a Ugandan citizen with contacts in his country’s government who is responsible for obtaining certificates for Asumo’s arms purchases.
Mpeirwe is currently a political advisor to the Ugandan government and previously served as deputy head of mission at the Uganda High Commission and a logistics security officer in association with the African Union Commission.
Subiro Osmund Mwapinga, finally, is a Tanzanian national who works for Mpeirwe and Asumo, obtaining certificates for arms purchases in his country.
How did they become involved with the Jalisco cartel?
According to the investigation, after one of the first meetings between Mirchev and representatives of the CJNG, Mirchev gave the cartel members a brochure listing the weapons he could obtain, including submachine guns, rifles, heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft systems, and even a military tank.
“The weapons included machine guns, grenade launchers, grenades, night vision equipment, sniper rifles, antipersonnel mines, and anti-aircraft weapons,” the U.S. justice department statement said.
