A Howard County, Maryland man has been indicted on federal charges of international parental kidnapping, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. The indictment alleges that Tahseen Dakheel Samo, 36, of Columbia, Maryland, took his minor child from his former spouse, who is also a U.S. citizen, while on a visit to Sweden in December 2020. The child remained in Samo’s custody, and court documents indicate that Samo texted his ex-wife stating she would “never see your son again.”
Further details from the indictment reveal that Samo and the minor child traveled to Denmark in November 2024, with Samo returning to the U.S. alone. He did not disclose the child’s location to his ex-wife or the court, even as divorce and custody proceedings began in April 2024 in the Circuit Court for Howard County. In October 2025, the Howard County court granted Samo’s ex-wife sole legal and physical custody of the child and ordered Samo to surrender the child or reveal his whereabouts. Samo’s failure to comply led to a contempt ruling by the court.
Following his release from contempt on November 29, Samo was arrested in Arlington, Virginia, on December 12 by the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI. The child was located in Sweden on January 27, 2026, and has since been returned to the United States. The investigation involved collaboration between the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, the U.S. Marshals Service for the District of Maryland, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Washington Field Office, and the Howard County Police Department, with assistance from the Swedish Police Authority. If convicted, Samo faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for international parental kidnapping. It is important to note that an indictment is an accusation, and individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland
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