Zimbabwean man caught smuggling drugs between area southeast of Hope, B.C., and Washington

ROSS LAKE/NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK — A Zimbabwean citizen has pleaded guilty to gun and drug crimes stemming from two incidents in which he illegally crossed into the U.S. from Canada, between an area southeast of Hope, B.C., and Western Washington.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington, 30-year-old Tatenda Banga was observed twice in 2024 on surveillance cameras near Hozomeen, Washington, south of Ross Lake in the North Cascades. Banga, who crossed illegally from Canada into Washington State, pleaded guilty on Thursday, March 13 to being an unlawful alien in possession of firearms and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. Banga is facing a scheduling hearing before U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead later this year in June 2025.

According to federal prosecutors, U.S. Border Patrol detection technology captured an image of an armed person entering the U.S. near the north end of Ross Lake near Hozomeen, Washington, on January 3, 2024. The image revealed a person, later identified as Banga, crossing over the border with a longarm shotgun. Authorities say later that day, Banga is seen defacing another camera near the border. Border Patrol and National Park Service officers responded and searched for the person depicted in the surveillance, but the subject fled into the woods and was not located. Agents located a loaded 12-gauge Winchester shotgun that appeared to match the gun in the surveillance image that the subject left behind during his flight from law enforcement. The gun was traced to a firearms dealer in Montreal, Quebec, but no fingerprint records matching those on the gun were found at the time.

On December 27, 2024, the National Park Service alerted Border Patrol officers to suspected cross border activity. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Bellingham station had received information that a stolen canoe had crossed the international boundary on the north end of Ross Lake. Authorities discovered a National Park Service canoe near Ross Dam with a machete and food wrappers inside the canoe. Authorities say RCMP cameras provided an image of someone with a headlamp and backpack moving toward the U.S./Canada border.

Image: Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office / The stolen canoe that a Zimbabwean citizen used to traverse Ross Lake on the U.S. side.

While driving Washington State Highway 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway, near the south end of Ross Lake, Border Patrol agents observed Banga walking on the side of the highway. Banga’s appearance matched the appearance of the individual from the RCMP surveillance images. Banga was contacted for an immigration inspection and had no documents to establish that he had legally crossed into the U.S. or that he was legally present in the U.S. When Banga was taken into custody, authorities found scales, gelatin capsules and about 1.4 pounds of MDMA in his possession.

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office says the crystalline substance found in Banga’s possession tested positive for the presumptive presence of MDMA, a synthetic, psychoactive drug commonly referred to as Molly or Ecstasy. MDMA is often ingested orally in capsule or pill form or it can be crushed and snorted. MDMA is often taken in 50-150 milligram doses. The amount of MDMA in Banga’s possession would total anywhere from 4,300 doses to 12,900 doses.

Consequently, Border Patrol Agents recognized Banga as being the same individual who was recorded defacing cameras in the area nearly a year prior. Border Patrol Agents reran the fingerprints found on the shotgun that was recovered on the U.S. side of the border back in January 2024, and the fingerprints on the gun matched to Banga. Information on Banga’s phone connected him to the shotgun. Authorities say Banga admitted that he unlawfully entered the U.S. from Canada while armed with the shotgun.

Sentencing guidelines involving a unlawful alien in possession of a firearm mean Banga could be punished by up to 15 years in prison. Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Judge Whitehead will determine the actual sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol Blaine Sector Anti-Smuggling Unit, National Park Service, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Dane A. Westermeyer and Special Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Collins led the prosecution effort.