U.S. justice highlights the DGSN-DGST hub’s role in two international operations targeting arms trafficking and terrorist-linked drug financing

The Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia highlighted the operational support provided by the joint hub of Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST) in two separate proceedings.

The first concerns an arms trafficking network linked to cartels in Latin America, while the second involves a criminal structure tied to narco-terrorism that relied on clandestine financial transfers.

U.S. judicial documents describe a transnational cooperation effort involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), several African and European services, as well as Moroccan authorities, which carried out field operations followed by extradition procedures to the United States.

The first press release states that Bulgarian arms trafficker Peter Dimitrov Mirchev appeared before a U.S. federal court after his extradition from Spain, while Kenyan national Elisha Odhiambo Asumo was transferred from Morocco to the United States on March 11, 2026, before being presented the following day before a federal judge.

Federal prosecutors explain that the defendants in this case “conspired to illegally provide military-grade weapons to Mexican drug cartels, and in particular to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,” which U.S. authorities describe as one of the most violent and active transnational criminal organizations in Mexico.

According to the indictment, the network planned to supply machine guns, rocket launchers, hand grenades, sniper rifles, anti-personnel mines, and anti-aircraft systems. Investigators also say the defendants believed that the cartel intended to use these weapons to facilitate the smuggling of large cocaine shipments into the United States.

Judicial documents indicate that secret meetings organized with individuals presented as cartel representatives made it possible to negotiate arms deals aimed at bypassing international monitoring systems.

The same documents further show that, according to the investigation, Mirchev recruited the Kenyan national in order to obtain a falsified end-user certificate.

Federal prosecutors state that the defendants “obtained a certificate authorizing the importation of AK-47 rifles, before exporting fifty automatic assault rifles from Bulgaria with the intention that the weapons would in fact be received by the cartel.” The case file adds that the negotiations later continued to include heavier systems, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft drones, and ZU-23 systems.

The release states that the arrests were carried out simultaneously in several countries. In Madrid, Spanish authorities arrested Mirchev, while Moroccan authorities arrested Asumo in Casablanca. A Tanzanian national was also arrested in Accra, Ghana, before likewise being extradited to the United States.

The U.S. prosecution confirms that the investigation was led by the DEA’s Bilateral Investigations Unit with the support of international partners, including the Moroccan government, comprising the General Directorate of National Security and the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance.

Coordinated arrests in an arms case linked to cartels

According to judicial documents, this case goes back to a criminal agreement dating from September 2022, when several intermediaries began arranging the sale of military weapons to a Mexican cartel.

Evidence presented before the U.S. courts indicates that the negotiations concerned a weapons list valued at tens of millions of euros. Prosecutors also say the defendants “continued conspiring to supply more weapons to drug cartels, potentially including surface-to-air missiles and other anti-aircraft systems.”

The file also states that the Bulgarian arms trafficker had previously been involved in transactions connected to Viktor Bout, who was previously convicted in cases involving terrorist conspiracy and arms trafficking. Prosecutors note that each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison, with the maximum penalty reaching life imprisonment, while the final sentence will be determined by the federal judge in accordance with applicable sentencing guidelines.

In this case, U.S. authorities attribute a decisive role to Moroccan services in the arrest of the Kenyan national inside Morocco, before his extradition to the United States on March 11, 2026. The release also explicitly mentions cooperation with the Moroccan government, including the General Directorate of National Security and the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance, alongside Spanish and Ghanaian authorities and the other partners involved in the operation.

Lebanese network and financial transfers linked to narco-terrorism

The second release issued by the same U.S. Attorney’s Office concerns the conviction of Lebanese-Syrian dual national Antoine Kassis in a case involving narco-terrorism conspiracy and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

U.S. judicial authorities explain that the defendant, a drug trafficker based in Lebanon, used his political connections to organize arrangements combining weapons and cocaine for the benefit of armed groups.

According to prosecutors, the defendant “used his high-level access to the Syrian government to traffic cocaine and weapons, while laundering the proceeds through a Colombian associate.”

Evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant negotiated the delivery of weapons from military stockpiles in exchange for hundreds of kilograms of cocaine. U.S. authorities further state that he intended to oversee the distribution of cocaine in the Middle East, while his accomplices worked to launder the proceeds on his behalf.

Evidence reviewed by the jury showed that members of the network moved nearly $100 million in less than eighteen months for the benefit of criminal organizations.

The release also refers to a financial transfer operation carried out in August 2024 as part of a controlled delivery coordinated with the DEA.

Judicial authorities explain that the investigation mobilized several regional offices of the U.S. agency, including those in Rabat, Nairobi, Accra, Madrid, and Bogotá. Moroccan services are also listed among the partners that provided significant assistance to the investigation, with the text stating that the General Directorate of National Security contributed to the investigative work alongside Ghanaian, Kenyan, and Colombian authorities.

Federal prosecutors stress that the case relied on broad international cooperation, which also involved the DEA’s Special Operations Division and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

The release confirms that the partner authorities “provided significant assistance to the investigation, including the General Directorate of National Security of Morocco.” Sentencing is scheduled for July 2, 2026, and the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty years in prison, with the maximum penalty being life imprisonment.