DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of Ohio

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, September 2, 2020
David DeVillers
, United States Attorney
Contact: Jennifer Thornton

10 Central Ohio Men, 1 Canadian Charged With Conspiring to Illegally Smuggle Guns to Canada for Profit

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Federal agents arrested seven men today in connection with a conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms to Canada.

A federal grand jury charged the co-conspirators in an indictment returned on Aug. 19 and unsealed this afternoon.

According to the indictment, the defendants acquired firearms both legally and illegally, stockpiled the firearms, and smuggled them to Canada in order to re-sell them for a profit.

It is alleged the group bought guns both through private sales and through straw purchases at gun shows.

For example, in April 2019, co-conspirators allegedly caused two individuals to conduct straw purchases of four firearms at the C&E Gun Show at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus.

Defendants would allegedly recruit female drivers to smuggle firearms across the border or to bring money back from Canada through promises of a free trip to Canada, payment, and access to drugs and alcohol.

In July 2018, more than $11,000 was seized by law enforcement from two of the defendants on one trip back to Ohio from Canada. Two months later, according to the indictment, more than $25,000 in cash was seized from two other defendants at the John Glenn International Airport.

The indictment details that on various occasions in 2019, individuals related to the conspiracy attempted to travel to Canada and were stopped by law enforcement. During each incident, multiple firearms were discovered in the vehicles.

In total, it is believed that the defendants conspired to smuggle more than 30 guns from Ohio to Canada from approximately July of 2018 through about the middle of 2019.

Those charged in the conspiracy include:

Name

Also Known As

Age

City of Residence

Omar Sharif Mohamed Hassan

O-Bandz

25

Columbus, Ohio

Jamil Jamal Abdalla

 

21

Columbus, Ohio

Mohamed Abdulkadir Mohamud

Bash

22

Columbus, Ohio

*Mohamed Abdi Hirad

Mo Trippin’, Trippin’

20

Columbus, Ohio

Abdirahim Mahmoud Dualeh

A.D.

24

Columbus, Ohio

*Shamarke Igal

Marke

24

Columbus, Ohio

Ahmed Ahmed

Seven

21

Columbus, Ohio

Abdiaziz Said Ahmed

Breezy

25

Columbus, Ohio

Ibrahim Ali

Ebey

24

Columbus, Ohio

*Mohamed Sharif Ali Mohamed

MoMo

22

Columbus, Ohio

Hussein Ahmed

 

23

Toronto, Canada

* Currently a fugitive

David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Roland Herndon, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan; United States Marshal Pete Tobin; Ohio Highway Patrol Superintendent Lt. Col. Richard Fambro; and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall and Kelly A. Norris are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

The United States Marshals Service asks anyone with information regarding the location of the fugitives to submit an anonymous tip via text message to the USMS Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team. Text keyword “SOFAST” along with your tip to 847411.

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Columbus Field Division