Tahseen Dakheel Samo, International Parental Kidnapping, Maryland 2026

Baltimore, Maryland

A Howard County man has been indicted for international parental kidnapping, a federal crime that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Tahseen Dakheel Samo, 36, of Columbia, Maryland, was indicted by a federal grand jury for taking his minor child from his former spouse while they were visiting family in Sweden in December 2020.

According to court documents, Samo’s ex-wife and their minor son were visiting family in Sweden when Samo arrived and took his son from his former spouse. He then flew back to the United States with the child without informing his ex-wife or the court.

After the divorce and custody battle began in April 2024 in the Circuit Court for Howard County, Samo and the child flew to Denmark in November 2024, but only Samo returned to the U.S.

The court granted Samo’s ex-wife sole legal and physical custody of the minor child in October 2025, but Samo failed to comply with the order, leading to him being held in contempt. He was released from contempt on November 29, but the U.S. Marshals Service and FBI arrested him on December 12 in Arlington, Virginia.

Authorities later located the child in Sweden on January 27, 2026, and returned him to the U.S. An indictment is not a finding of guilt, and Samo is presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding.

U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Army CID, and Howard County Police Department for their work in the investigation, as well as the Swedish Police Authority for their assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reema Sood and Elliot Higgins are prosecuting the case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and its resources, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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