A federal grand jury has indicted the owner of the Dimmples Kettles restaurant in downtown Silver Spring on charges of making threatening communications to kidnap and injure Cameroon citizens and providing material support to separatist groups.
38-year-old Eric Tataw of Gaithersburg, who surrendered to federal authorities last week, allegedly refers to himself as the “Garri master,” a term he coined referring to mutilation, ordered violent groups to murder, kidnap, and maim civilians as part of a separatist campaign against the Cameroonian government, prosecutors said.
The federal indictment resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, and the Diplomatic Security Service.
Tataw informed the Source in 2023 that he had acquired the former Lotus Café at 8073-8077 Georgia Ave. in downtown Silver Spring, which had closed that summer; the restaurant was transformed into the “African-Vietnamese-Latino-Intercontinental” Dimmples Kettles and opened in the spring of 2024.
Additionally, Tataw, a Cameroon national, made headlines last summer when neighbors complained about wild pool parties at his house, citing safety concerns and disruptive behavior, prompting County Executive Marc Elrich to release a statement on preventing house party businesses in Montgomery County.
According to its website, he also founded Dimmples Car Rentals, a Hyattsville-based membership-based rental agency owned by 75 individuals in the United States and Canada.
According to court documents, multiple armed and violent secessionist groups in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon are fighting to form a new country called “Ambazonia.” The armed separatist groups sought to achieve secession by not only attacking the Cameroonian military but also intentionally attacking the civilian population in Cameroon in an attempt to coerce and intimidate the Cameroonian government into allowing these regions to secede. These separatist fighters are frequently referred to as “Amba Boys.”
“Tataw and his co-conspirators masterminded and financially supported a vicious scheme to overthrow a foreign government. They resorted to an unthinkable level of violence while instilling fear in innocent victims to advance their political agenda,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. Kelly O. Hayes said in a press release. “We, along with our law enforcement partners, are committed to relentlessly pursuing anyone who attempts to inflict mayhem on others. Tataw and his co-conspirators demonstrated a total disregard for human life so now they must pay the price.”
As alleged in the indictment, Tataw is a citizen of Cameroon living in Maryland and a member of the Cameroonian diaspora with a large social media following. Beginning no later than April 2018, Tataw conspired to provide material support and resources — including money, weapons, and personnel — to Amba Boys in Cameroon, and called for the murder, kidnapping, and maiming of Cameroonian civilians. Tataw and his co-conspirators directed the maiming of Cameroonian civilians by severing their limbs, a practice Tataw called “Garriing.” Tataw used the phrase “small Garri” to refer to removing fingers or other small appendages, and the phrase “large Garri” to refer to removing large limbs or killing people.
Additionally, Tataw referred to himself as the “Garri Master,” or master of mutilation.
Tataw and his co-conspirators targeted those believed to be working for or collaborating with the government, including municipal officials, traditional chiefs, and employees of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). This government-owned company grew, processed, and sold bananas, palm oil, and rubber. As alleged, Tataw personally wrote hundreds of social media posts on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter calling for attacks against Cameroonian civilians, seeking to raise funds to arm Amba Boys, and threatening those he viewed as cooperating with the Cameroonian government.
The social media posts were regularly viewed by tens of thousands of people, including Amba Boys and their leaders, and were often further disseminated by third parties allegedly acting at Tataw’s direction or encouragement, according to authorities.
Tataw and his co-conspirators solicited and raised funds to supply Amba Boys with firearms, ammunition, explosive materials, and other equipment for enforcing lockdown or “ghost-town” orders and carrying out violent attacks. A fundraising campaign, known as the “National AK Campaign,” was designed to arm each Amba Boy in Cameroon with an AK-47 rifle. From about September 2018 through December 2020, Tataw and his co-conspirators raised more than $110,000. Tataw and co-conspirators transferred portions of these funds — either directly or through intermediaries — to Amba Boys located in Cameroon and neighboring Nigeria.
Additionally, Tataw communicated directly with Amba Boy leaders on the ground in Cameroon. Tataw also, on multiple occasions, personally took credit for Amba Boys murdering, kidnapping, and maiming civilians in connection with the separatists’ cause, authorities said.
If convicted, Tataw faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on the material support count and five years in prison on each count of making threatening communications to injure or kidnap.
The status of the Dimmples Kettles restaurant in downtown Silver Spring is currently unknown.