Baltimore, Maryland – In a shocking case of international arms smuggling, two conspirators, Tse Ernst Bangarie, 47, and Edith Ngang, 57, have been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for their roles in illegally exporting firearms and ammunition from the United States to Nigeria.
The sentencing was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland. Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (‘HSI’) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (‘ATF’) Baltimore Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (‘DCIS’) – Mid-Atlantic Field Office also made statements regarding the case.
According to court documents, the conspirators’ purpose was to assist separatists fighting against the government of Cameroon. Bangarie, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Ngang, of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy and illegally exporting firearms and ammunition from the United States to Nigeria without obtaining the required licenses from the U.S. State Department.
Bangarie owned and operated a freight forwarding company in Landover, Maryland. He was responsible for arranging for the shipment of the firearms, ammunition, and other items in at least one overseas shipping container. Bangarie also referred individuals to co-conspirator Tamufor St. Michael to cut open and then weld shut metal compressors that the conspirators used to conceal many of the firearms in the shipping containers.
Ngang admitted that she participated in the reloading of ammunition in the basement of St. Michael’s residence in 2018. However, the conspirators banned her from coming in person after a video of Ngang loading the ammunition was posted on social media in October 2018, something the conspirators considered a serious security breach.
As detailed in their plea agreements, in December 2018, Ngang provided a shipping container, with a 1989 Toyota truck inside, for the conspirators to use to export the firearms, ammunition, and other items. The container was sent to the Port of Baltimore for export, departing on January 17, 2019, with a destination of Onne, Nigeria.
Bangarie caused the electronic export information (‘EEI’) to be filed with the U.S. Principal Party in Interest listing the contents of the container as one Toyota Tundra truck, one 1989 Toyota truck, and ‘doors and frames.’ The EEI also listed the U.S. Principal Party in Interest as an individual with the initials M.A.O. and a non-existent address. Bangarie knew that much of the information on the EEI was false and he intentionally did not include any mention of the firearms, ammunition, and other items hidden in the container.
The sentencing took place on April 18, 2023, for Bangarie and on the day the article was written for Ngang. Both defendants will serve two years of supervised release following their prison terms.
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Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Violent Crime|Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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