HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — 36-year-old Tahseen Dakheel Samo from Columbia, Maryland, is being indicted by a grand jury for international parental kidnapping.
This arises from a divorce and a custody dispute over his child.
Court documents say Samo and his ex-wife, both U.S. citizens, have family living in Sweden.
While Samo's ex-wife and their child were visiting family in Sweden in December 2020, Samo also traveled to Sweden to see the child.
After Samo's arrival, he allegedly took his son from his ex-wife and flew back to the U.S. with him.
Later, he would text his ex, “You will never see your son again.”
The child was in the care of Samo from then on, and during the divorce and custody proceedings, which began in April 2024, in the Circuit Court for Howard County.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, November 2024 flight records showed that Samo and his son flew to Denmark. However, Samo returned to the U.S. alone.
He did not give the location of the child to his wife or to the court.
In October 2025, Samo's ex-wife was granted sole legal and physical custody of their son. Samo would have to surrender his son to his wife or disclose his location.
He didn't follow the order, and the court held him in contempt.
On November 29, Samo was released from contempt.
Then on December 12, the USMS and FBI arrested Samo in Arlington, Virginia.
Authorities later found the child in Sweden on January 27, 2026, and returned him to the U.S.
If convicted, Samo faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for international parental kidnapping.
