Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Violating US Gun Laws
A 26-year-old citizen of Niger has been sent to federal prison on firearms charges related to his status in the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Moctar Ahmadou was found guilty of violating US gun laws while on a student visa. He was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett.
Even though Ahmadou was lawfully present in the United States on a nonimmigrant visa, he violated the terms of that status by illegally using a firearm and ammunition.
Ahmadou entered the United States on March 24, 2016, from Niger, with a nonimmigrant F1 visa to study at the North American University in Stafford. However, he participated in handling and firing a handgun at a Texas-based gun range on May 17, 2021, and returned to the same gun range on May 18, 2021, to participate in handling and firing a rifle.
“Moctar Ahmadou, like thousands every year, traveled to the United States under an F-1 visa in search of an American education,” said Hamdani. “But when he took that quest for knowledge to a gun range, picked up a gun, handled the ammo and fired it, he went from student to criminal. This sentence sends a strong message to those like Ahmadou–stay in the classroom and away from the gun range otherwise your American education will come not from a University but from the prison library.”
Ahmadou has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI led the investigation with the assistance of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Department of State – Diplomatic Security Service; Homeland Security Investigations; Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Customs and Immigration Service; and Texas Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Schammel and Richard Bennett prosecuted the case along with Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the Justice Department’s Counter Terrorism Section.
Defendant: Moctar Ahmadou
Criminal Charges: Firearms Violation
City and State: Houston, Texas
Date: March 24, 2016 (entry date), May 17, 2021 (crime date), March 14, 2023 (sentencing date)
Sentence: 78 months in federal prison
Keywords: Moctar Ahmadou, Firearms Violation, Texas 2023
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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