A Kenyan has been extradited to the US to face charges linked to a multi-billion-shilling international arms trafficking and drug conspiracy involving one of Mexico’s most violent cartels, according to a US federal indictment.

Elisha Asumo is among four foreign nationals accused of conspiring to supply military-grade weapons to a transnational criminal network designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation in February last year.

The indictment, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, also names Bulgarian arms trafficker Peter Dimitrov Mirchev, Ugandan Michael Katungi Mpeirwe and Tanzanian Subiro Osmund Mwapinga as co-conspirators.

Prosecutors allege that between 2022 and 2024, the group coordinated a sophisticated scheme to arm Mexican drug cartels with an array of high-powered weapons, including machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades, sniper rifles, anti-aircraft systems and anti-personnel mines.

According to court documents, the defendants knowingly sought to supply the weapons to CJNG to support its vast narcotics trafficking network, which funnels cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine into the US, generating billions of dollars annually.

The suspects are also accused of conspiring to distribute at least five kilogrammes of cocaine destined for the US market, as well as providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation.

Central to the scheme was the alleged use of falsified arms transfer documentation to evade international controls.

Investigators say Asumo played a key role in sourcing fraudulent End-User Certificates (EUCs) and Delivery Verification Protocols (DVPs) from African countries through bribery, creating a false paper trail to disguise the real destination of the weapons.

In one instance, the group allegedly obtained an EUC from Tanzania claiming that 50 AK-47 rifles were intended for the Tanzanian military, despite plans to divert the weapons to the cartel.

Payments linked to the scheme were traced to bank accounts, including transfers of about $5,000 (Sh645,750) and $30,000 (Sh3.8 million) sent to an account registered in Asumo’s name in Kenya as part of the fraudulent documentation process.

The indictment further reveals that the suspects met in multiple international locations, including South Africa and the UK, to coordinate the arms deals and explore using East Africa as a transit route for cocaine shipments.

Authorities allege that in July 2024, a shipment of 50 AK-47 rifles, ammunition and magazines was exported from Bulgaria with the intention of reaching CJNG operatives, though the consignment was later intercepted.

Despite the seizure, the group allegedly continued planning larger deals, including proposals to supply surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones and heavy weapon systems capable of targeting helicopters.

One documented proposal outlined a weapons package valued at approximately 53.7 million euros (about Sh7.5 billion).

The four face multiple counts, including conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking, and conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organisation.