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U.S. Sentenced Guatemalan Congressman To 18 Years In Prison For Drug Trafficking

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Abe McGlothin, Jr

U.S. Sentenced Guatemalan Congressman To 18 Years In Prison For Drug Trafficking

U.S. sentenced Guatemalan congressman to 18 years in prison for drug trafficking. Aformer Guatemalan congressman has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for his role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. of the Eastern District of Texas.

Jose Armando Ubico Aguilar, 45, a former senior Republic of Guatemala official, pleaded guilty to ­­­­being involved in an international drug trafficking conspiracy and was sentenced to 216 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale on February 11, 2025.

According to information presented in court, Ubico Aguilar served as an elected member of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala from 2016 to 2024.  He also served as an elected Deputy and was the President of the National Defense Committee of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala from 2018 to 2023.

“The sentencing of this corrupt Guatemalan official who brokered and facilitated cocaine shipments into the United States while betraying his country through his partnerships with known drug traffickers and other corrupt officials shows the commitment of the Eastern District of Texas United States Attorney’s Office to identify, disrupt, and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.  “I am grateful to our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to ensure that Ubico Aguilar will no longer be allowed to hide behind his position of power.”

“The sentencing of this corrupt official who brokered and facilitated cocaine shipments into the United States sends a message to Transnational Criminal Organizations across the world that they will be held responsible for the poison they distribute into the United States,” said Dallas DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez.  “This sentence reflects our continued resolve to partner with our international law-enforcement counterparts to fight greed, violence, and public corruption.”

On March 3, 2021, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas indicted Ubico Aguilar charging him with federal drug trafficking violations. In May 2024, Ubico Aguilar arrived in the United States and pleaded guilty.

During his plea hearing, Ubico Aguilar admitted his role in the conspiracy, including relaying drug-related information and U.S. currency to another Guatemalan official on behalf of an international drug trafficker. These actions resulted in the safe passage of at least 450 kilograms of cocaine through Guatemala for distribution in the United States.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

Abe McGlothin, Jr

Abe McGlothin, Jr

Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case was investigated by the North Texas Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) Strike Force Group Two; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Division; the DEA’s Guatemala City Country Office and the DEA’s San Jose (Costa Rica) Country Office; the FBI’s Dallas Field Office; the Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas and Guatemala Field Offices; the U.S. Marshals Service’s Dallas Field Office; and Customs and Border Protection’s San Diego Field Office.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division also provided significant assistance in securing the surrender of Ubico Aguilar.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Eason.

Crime

EFCC Arrests Serial Fraudster Over Alleged N20m Visa Fraud In Enugu

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EFCC

EFCC Arrests Serial Fraudster Over Alleged N20m Visa Fraud In Enugu

EFCC arrests serial fraudster over alleged N20m visa fraud in Enugu. He said the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

Its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Oyewale said the suspect was facing interrogation for allegedly obtaining N19.9 million from three victims under the pretence of assisting them to process visas.

He listed the three petitioners as Osmond Ugwu, Ugwu Chidubem, and Amadiani Chinedu, who alleged that they were defrauded by the suspect.

According to him, Mr Ugwu claimed that he met the suspect in 2018 when he was planning to travel abroad.

“The suspect reportedly presented himself as a visa agent, and lured him with an offer of a Red-cross sponsored visa to the United States of America at the cost of N1.8 million, excluding his flight ticket.

“Ugwu allegedly paid N4 million for the arrangement as well as other payments, which brought the total sum the suspect collected from him to N11.8 million.”

Mr Oyewale also said that the second petitioner, Mr Chidubem, claimed that the suspect conspired with his friend to defraud him of the sum of N5.9 million.

“The suspect assured Chidubem that he will procure genuine documents for him to further pursue his football career abroad.

“The third victim, Chinedu, in his own petition alleged that the suspect defrauded him to the tune of N2.2 million to procure a work permit and an accompanying visa to enable him to migrate to Australia.

EFCC

EFCC

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the 44-year-old suspect, who is an electrical engineer, was parading himself as a visa processing agent who helps people to migrate abroad easily.

“It was also discovered that he is not a licensed travel agent,” Mr Oyewale said.

He added that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

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Court Sentences Former Accountant-General Nwabuoku To 72 Years In Prison Over N868m Fraud

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Court Sentences Former Accountant-General Nwabuoku To 72 Years In Prison Over N868m Fraud

Former accountant-general Nwabuoku to 72 years in prison. Delivering judgment on Monday, James Omotosho, presiding judge, held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had proved its case against Nwabuoku.

Nwabuoku was arraigned on a nine-count amended charge bordering on money laundering and fraud to the tune of N868.4 million.

He was granted bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties in like sum.

In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/240/2024, the anti-graft agency accused Nwabuoku of conspiring with several companies, including Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Limited, to convert funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

The alleged offence, according to the EFCC, contravenes section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No. 1 of 2012), and is punishable under section 15(3) of the Act.

The commission said Nwabuoku committed the offences while serving as the director of finance and accounts in the ministry of defence between 2019 and 2021.

The former acting accountant general had filed a no-case submission which was dismissed by the court in November 2025.

Court

Court

Nwabuoku was appointed acting accountant-general of the federation on May 20, 2022, by then President Muhammadu Buhari, following the suspension of Ahmed Idris over alleged N80 billion fraud.

But Nwabuoku was removed from the position in July 2022, barely weeks after assuming office, following reports that he was under EFCC investigation.

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Contractor Julius Ejiogu Bags Two Years Imprisonment For Forgery

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Friends Jailed 12 Months For Stealing Clothes In Jos

Contractor Julius Ejiogu Bags Two Years Imprisonment For Forgery

Justice F. A. Olubanjo of the Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State has convicted and sentenced Julius Ejiogu, a contractor to two years imprisonment for forgery.

The convict was arraigned on a three -count charge of conspiracy, forgery and uttering of false document on March 23, 2021 by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Upon arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to the charge setting the stage for trial.

The charge reads: “That you Julius Eljiogu and one Engr. E. Expert (at large) on or about the 2nd of August 2013, at Delta State within the jurisdiction of this honourable did conspires amongst yourselves to committed felony to wit: make a document titled Award of Contract for the Construction of Obudu-operation Road in Udu L.G.A. Delta State dated 2nd August 2013 on a letterhead paper on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, purported to have been issued or emanated from NDDC for the award of Contract which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offence Act Cap M17 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) Act 2007 and punishable under Section 3 (1)(C) of the same Act.”

In the course of the trial, prosecution counsel, K.Y. Bello called four witnesses and tendered several documents which were admitted by the court while the defendant testified as sole witness for his case.

Friends Jailed 12 Months For Stealing Clothes In Jos

Jail

Justice Olubanjo in his judgment (on Thursday January 15, 2026) found the defendant guilty on count one of the charge but discharged and acquitted him on count two and three . The judge consequently sentenced the defendant to two years imprisonment with an option of N1 million fine.

The convict’s road to jail began when he purportedly got a letter for the award of Contract for the Construction of Obudu-Oleri Road in Udu Local Government Area, Delta State from one Engr. Eshitt of the Niger Delta Development Commission. He went ahead to sell the contract to the petitioner for N2 million only for him to discover that the said contract award was fake.

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