A U.S. Army Major, Kojo Owusu Dartey, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally exporting firearms without a license.
Dartey, 42, of Fort Liberty, was convicted on April 23, 2024, after a jury trial.
He was found guilty of multiple charges, including false statements to a U.S. agency, false declarations in court, conspiracy, dealing in firearms without a license, failing to notify carriers of firearm shipments, and smuggling goods from the United States to Ghana.
According to court records, Dartey 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 and send them to him in North Carolina.
He then concealed the firearms inside blue barrels under rice and household goods and, with the help of an Army Chief Warrant Officer, smuggled them through the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, onto a container ship bound for the Port of Tema, Ghana.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) intercepted the shipment, recovered the firearms, and reported the seizure to the DEA attaché in Ghana and the ATF Baltimore Field Division.
Court documents also reveal that Dartey played a key role in uncovering a 16-defendant marriage fraud scheme involving soldiers at Fort Liberty and foreign nationals from Ghana.
During a related trial (U.S. v. Agyapong) between June 28 and July 2, 2021, Dartey lied under oath about his sexual relationship with a defense witness.
He also misled federal investigators regarding the relationship.
Following his conviction, Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II handed down the sentence.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Diaz, while Daniel Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the official announcement after sentencing.
This conviction underscores U.S. authorities' commitment to curbing illegal arms trafficking and ensuring military personnel are held accountable for criminal activities.
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith
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