Nkonkonsa Celebrity Gossip From Africa
A U.S. Army Major of Ghanaian descent, Kojo Owusu Dartey, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in smuggling firearms to Ghana.
Dartey, 42, was convicted on April 23, 2024, after a jury found him guilty of multiple offenses, including conspiracy, dealing in firearms without a license, and smuggling goods from the United States.
According to court records, Dartey was implicated in a 16-person marriage fraud scheme involving soldiers at Fort Liberty and foreign nationals from Ghana. He later provided information that helped authorities prosecute the case.
During the trial of U.S. v. Agyapong between June 28 and July 2, 2021, Dartey committed perjury by lying under oath about his sexual relationship with a defense witness.
At the same time, he purchased seven firearms in the Fort Liberty area and instructed a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to buy three additional firearms. The weapons were then transported to North Carolina.
Dartey concealed the firearms inside blue barrels, hiding them under rice and household goods. With assistance from an Army Chief Warrant Officer, he successfully smuggled the barrels out of the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, using a container ship bound for the Port of Tema in Ghana.
However, Ghanaian authorities uncovered the hidden weapons upon arrival at the port, prompting an immediate report to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) attaché in Ghana and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.
Announcing the sentencing, Daniel Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, emphasized the serious nature of the crime, stating that firearms smuggling poses a significant threat to global security and will be met with strict legal consequences.
Source:NKONKONSA.com
