By Spy Uganda
Former Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer Michael Katungi Mpeirwe has been arrested in Uganda and is expected to be extradited to the United States over allegations that he participated in a multimillion-dollar international arms trafficking conspiracy linked to Mexico’s Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
Security sources said Katungi was arrested on Saturday afternoon. By Sunday morning, he was being held at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) headquarters in Kibuli, Kampala.
Officials familiar with the matter said Ugandan and U.S. authorities were finalising arrangements for his extradition to face charges before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Katungi is among four individuals named in a U.S. federal indictment. The others are Bulgarian arms dealer Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo, and Tanzanian national Subiro Osmund Mwapinga.
According to U.S. prosecutors, the four men conspired from around September 2022 to acquire and supply military-grade weapons to CJNG, one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organisations.
The indictment alleges that the group sought to supply an extensive arsenal, including AK-47 rifles, PKM machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs), sniper rifles, hand grenades, anti-personnel mines, drones, anti-drone systems, night vision equipment, ammunition, and ZU-23 anti-aircraft guns.
U.S. investigators allege that the proposed weapons package was valued at approximately 53.7 million Euros, equivalent to about $58 million.
Prosecutors further allege that members of the group used falsified End-User Certificates and Delivery Verification Protocols to conceal the true destination of the weapons.
One document allegedly indicated that 50 AK-47 rifles were being imported exclusively for the Tanzanian military. However, investigators claim the weapons were instead intended for the Mexican cartel.
The indictment describes Katungi as a Ugandan national with alleged connections to the Ugandan government.
Prosecutors claim he worked alongside co-accused Elisha Asumo to obtain arms documentation in Africa and that he previously served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Uganda High Commission and later as a security logistics officer associated with the African Union Commission.
Court documents also allege that during a meeting in London in April 2024, Katungi offered to use his contacts in Africa and within the Ugandan government to obtain arms documentation for future weapons shipments in exchange for a two percent commission.
The indictment further alleges that payments connected to the conspiracy included transfers of $5,000 in October 2022 and $30,000 in December 2022 to a Kenyan bank account belonging to Asumo, as well as $37,977.53 allegedly wired in November 2023 to a Bulgarian arms manufacturer associated with Mirchev.
The indictment contains three counts against the accused:
Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing it would be imported into the United States.
Conspiracy to possess firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices, in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation.
The final charge stems from the U.S. government’s designation of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation on February 20, 2025.
If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and could receive life imprisonment.
Federal prosecutors are also seeking the forfeiture of assets allegedly connected to the conspiracy, including a seized shipping container said to contain about 50 AK-47-style rifles, magazines, and ammunition.
The case forms part of a wider international law enforcement operation.
According to U.S. authorities, Mirchev has already been extradited from Spain, Asumo from Morocco, and Mwapinga from Ghana. Katungi had previously been listed as at large before his reported arrest in Uganda.
The investigation is being led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division, while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony T. Aminoff and Edgardo J. Rodriguez are prosecuting the case.
Neither the Ugandan government nor the Uganda People’s Defence Forces had publicly commented on Katungi’s arrest by the time of publication.
The allegations contained in the U.S. indictment have not been tested in court. Michael Katungi Mpeirwe and his co-accused are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
