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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 Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video

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EFCC Probes Man

EFCC Arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for Alleged Naira Mutilation In Viral Video

EFCC arrests Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa for alleged naira mutilation in viral video. The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,   on Tuesday, February 3, 2026  arrested a Kannywood Star, Samha Inuwa over alleged Naira mutilation.

Inuwa was arrested following a viral video circulated on social media platforms where she was seen conspicuously cleaning mucus from her nose using Naira notes.

EFCC Probes Man

EFCC

Following the release of the viral video, the Commission swung into action by tracing and subsequently arrested her to answer questions.
She is currently being held at the Commission’s detention facility while investigation is ongoing.

The suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.

Dele Oyewale
Head,  Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026

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Crime

EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects,  Trucks for  Suspected  Illegal Mining Activities in Kwara

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EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects

EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects,  Trucks for  Suspected  Illegal Mining Activities in Kwara

Operatives of the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested ten individuals suspected of involvement in illegal mining activities along the Ilorin – Ogbomosho axis.

They were arrested on  Sunday, February 1, 2026, following credible intelligence on unlawful mineral excavation and transportation in parts of Kwara and Oyo States.

The suspects, comprising  nine truck drivers and one escort were intercepted and taken into custody in a well -coordinated sting operation. Solid minerals arrested with the suspects  include lithium, tin, and lepidolite.

EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects

EFCC Arrests 10 Suspects

The suspects have no requisite licences, permits, or regulatory approvals for their mining activities.

Other items recovered from the suspects are trucks loaded with the unlawfully mined materials.

The suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.

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List Of 40 Suspects Detained Over Alleged Plot To Overthrow Tinubu Government

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Tinubu Has Directed Us To Rebuild National Security Architecture

List Of 40 Suspects Detained Over Alleged Plot To Overthrow Tinubu Government

List of 40 suspects detained over alleged plot to overthrow Tinubu Government. Nigerian security agencies have concluded investigations into an alleged coup plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with at least 40 suspects detained in connection with the conspiracy.

The suspects include senior military officers, a police officer, and several civilians accused of roles ranging from reconnaissance and funding to propaganda.

According to a Premium Times report, the arrests followed a covert intelligence operation coordinated by the Army Headquarters and the State Security Service (SSS).

“Thirteen people were apprehended by the SSS, including two military personnel (one retired), one policeman, and ten civilians,” one source said.

In total, 16 serving military officers were detained for direct involvement, while others were linked to funding and incitement. Two civilians were reportedly recruited to incite civil unrest intended to justify the coup.

According to the online newspaper, one of the detained soldiers was said to have escaped custody but was later rearrested by SSS operatives in Bauchi State, according to insider accounts.

Recall that on Monday, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) confirmed that the investigation had been completed and forwarded to “appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.”

“Findings identified several officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government,” the military said, describing the act as “inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”

Sources said authorities are now awaiting presidential approval to constitute a court-martial panel to try the indicted soldiers.

Investigations revealed that the coupists initially planned to disrupt the May 29, 2023 handover ceremony from former President Muhammadu Buhari to President Tinubu, but the plan was shelved due to lack of funds and logistics.

The conspiracy was allegedly reactivated in 2025, after former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva purportedly transferred nearly ₦1 billion through multiple Bureau De Change accounts to fund the operation.

Sylva and a retired senior officer identified as Major General Adamu, both accused of bankrolling the plot, are reportedly at large.

Security sources said one of the fugitive suspects has been tracked to a South American country, though his precise location remained undisclosed for security reasons.

Investigators also uncovered a chilling plan to assassinate top government officials, including President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

“They were waiting for a day when all of them would be in the country. Wherever they were, they would be assassinated,” one source revealed.

The plot allegedly relied on informants inside the Presidential Villa, who monitored the movements of top officials. The conspirators were to seize control of strategic locations such as the Presidential Villa, Niger Barracks, Armed Forces Complex, and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

Tinubu Has Directed Us To Rebuild National Security Architecture

Military

Hereunder is the full list of the alleged coupists arrested

MA Sadiq (Brigadier General)  Army  lHeadquarters Garrison

MA Ma’aji (Colonel) Defence Space Administration

S Bappah (Lt. Colonel) 525 Signal Regiment

AA Hayatu (Lt Colonel) 130 Battalion Main, Ogoja, Cross River State

P Dangnap (Lt Colonel) 134 Special Force Battalion

M Almakura (Lt Colonel) 197 Special Force Battalion

AA Jarma (Lt Colonel) CO, 35 Battalion Katsina

SM Gana (Lt Colonel) 115 Task Force Battalion

AD Dauda (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji

JM GANAKS (Maj) Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji

AJ Ibrahim (Maj) Army Headquarters’ Department of Policy and Plans

MM Jiddah (Maj) 26 Battalion

MA Usman (Maj) 35 Battalion

D Yusuf (Maj) Forward Operating Base Molai (AHQ SG)

J Iliyasu (Maj) 3 Division Garrison

A Mohammed (Maj) 63 Brigade Garrison

DB Abdullahi (Lt Cdr) Naval Base Abuja

SB Adamu (Sqn Ldr) National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC)

NG Zuzu (Sqn Ldr) Headquarters, Nigeria Air Force Camp

G Binuga (Captain) 1 NMF Brigade

AA Yusuf (Captain) Nigerian Army of the School of Finance and Administration (NASFA)

1 Bello (Captain) 82 Division Garrison

SS Felix (Lt) 81 Division Provost Group

J Aminu (Lt) Headquarters Directorate of Army Public Relations (DAPR)

Nasiru Ibrahim (WO) 82 Division Garrison

Sanda Usman (Sgt) 167 Special Force Battalion

Mohammed Zubairu (Sgt) 177 Guards Battalion

Momoh Audu (Cpl) 343 Artillery Regiment

Ahmed Ibrahim (Inspector) 24 Police Mobile Force, Presidential Villa

EO Victor (Navy Capt/Rtd) 3 Abraham Avenue off Odili Road, Port Harcourt

Umoru Zekeri Julius Berger, Villa Electrician

Y Nasiru (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison

Sambo Danladi (LCpl) 82 Division Garrison

Abdul Abdullahi (SSgt) 82 Division Garrison

Ali Isah Villa Ambulance Driver

ML Mohammed (Capt) 18 Battalion

UI Yusuf (Wg Cdr) International/Helicopter Flying School, Enugu

IM Gana (Maj Gen Rtd) No 34 A Army Estate, Kubwa, Abuja

Stanley Kingley Amandi Propagandist

Goni Bukar

Security sources confirmed that joint operations involving multiple agencies are underway to dismantle remaining cells and track fleeing suspects. The EFCC and SSS are also interrogating several civilians over alleged roles in funding, logistics, and coordination.

At least 25 military personnel are expected to face trial in connection with the plot, according to sources close to the investigation.

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