Howard County, MD (WBFF) — A Howard County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of international parental kidnapping following a years-long custody dispute involving his minor son.
Tahseen Dakheel Samo, 36, of Columbia, Maryland, is accused of unlawfully removing and concealing his child overseas amid an ongoing divorce and custody battle, federal prosecutors announced.
The indictment was announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes, alongside officials from the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division – Washington Field Office, and the Howard County Police Department.
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According to court documents, Samo and his former spouse, both U.S. citizens, have relatives in Sweden.
In December 2020, while Samo’s ex-wife and their young son were visiting family there, Samo traveled to Sweden to see the child.
Authorities allege that during the visit, Samo took the child from his former spouse and returned with him to the United States.
Prosecutors say that at some point after taking the child, Samo sent a text message to his ex-wife stating, “You will never see your son again.”
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The child remained in Samo’s custody during subsequent divorce and custody proceedings, which began in April 2024 in the Circuit Court for Howard County.
Flight records cited in the indictment show that in November 2024, Samo and the child traveled to Denmark.
However, only Samo returned to the United States.
Authorities allege that Samo did not disclose the child’s whereabouts to his ex-wife or to the court.
In October 2025, a Howard County judge granted the child’s mother sole legal and physical custody and ordered Samo to either surrender the child or reveal his location.
Prosecutors say Samo failed to comply and was held in contempt of court. Samo was released from contempt on Nov. 29.
On Dec. 12, he was arrested in Arlington, Virginia, by members of the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI.
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Authorities later located the child in Sweden on Jan. 27, 2026, and returned him to the United States.
If convicted, Samo faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for international parental kidnapping.
Hayes commended the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Army CID, and Howard County Police Department for their work on the case, as well as the Swedish Police Authority for its assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reema Sood and Elliot Higgins are prosecuting the case.
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