A Chicago resident, Anthony Nee Amoo, has been charged with federal firearm violations for allegedly trafficking firearms from the United States to Ghana. The charges were filed in a criminal complaint on Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Nee Amoo, 54, is accused of willfully exporting firearms without proper authorization, a violation of U.S. laws and regulations. He was arrested on Monday and remains in federal custody. His detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 2:00 p.m., 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 alleges that he did not declare these firearms nor inform shippers about them and lacked a U.S. license to export the guns. Since October 2020, he reportedly signed federal forms warning him of the penalties for unauthorized exportation.

Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, along with Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), announced the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys LeighAnn M. Thomas and Michael Maione are representing the government.

The investigation involves ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) in Chicago—a hub focused on investigating gun violence across northern Illinois through interagency collaboration among law enforcement officers and prosecutors.

This case is part of broader efforts by the Department of Justice to combat illegal firearms trafficking as part of its cross-jurisdictional strike force aimed at reducing gun violence. The Chicago firearms trafficking strike force includes cooperation among various law enforcement agencies to curb illegally trafficked firearms.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), another initiative by the Department of Justice targeting violent crime reduction including firearm offenses, also supports these efforts within the Northern District of Illinois.

It is important to note that a criminal complaint contains only allegations; it 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.