A Chicago resident, Anthony Nee Amoo, 54, faces federal charges for allegedly trafficking firearms from the United States to Ghana. The criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, accuses Nee Amoo of willfully exporting firearms without adhering to U.S. laws and regulations. He was arrested on Monday and remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole.
The complaint details that Nee Amoo purchased 71 firearms in northern Illinois between 2006 and 2024, which he then exported to Ghana by traveling with them or shipping them concealed within vehicles or barrels. It is alleged that he did not declare these firearms nor inform shippers about their presence, and lacked the necessary U.S. license for exportation. Since October 2020, he reportedly signed federal forms acknowledging the penalties for unauthorized firearm exportation.
The announcement of the charges came from Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, alongside Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorneys LeighAnn M. Thomas and Michael Maione are representing the government.
This investigation involves ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) in Chicago—a hub dedicated to investigating gun violence through interagency collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement officers.
Disrupting illegal firearm trafficking is central to the Department of Justice's cross-jurisdictional strike force aimed at reducing gun violence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office works with various agencies including the FBI and Chicago Police Department as part of this initiative.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), another DOJ strategy focusing on violent crime reduction through federal prosecution of firearm offenses, is active in addressing such issues within the Northern District of Illinois.
It is important to note that a complaint merely contains charges and does not constitute evidence of guilt; Nee Amoo is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in federal prison.