The Manhattan U. S Attorney's Office released the below information:
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, and Raymond Donovan, the Special Agent in Charge of the
Special Operations Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
(“DEA”), today announced that four individuals charged with participating in a
narcotics importation conspiracy arrived in New York from Kenya.
BAKTASH AKASHA ABDALLA, a/k/a “Baktash Akasha,” IBRAHIM
AKASHA ABDALLA, a/k/a “Ibrahim Akasha,” GULAM HUSSEIN, a/k/a “Hussein
Shabakhash,” a/k/a “Hadji Hussein,” a/k/a “Old Man,” and VIJAYGIRI ANANDGIRI
GOSWAMI, a/k/a “Vijay Goswami,” a/k/a “Vicky Goswami,” were arrested in
Mombasa, Kenya, on November 9, 2014, pursuant to a United States request, based
on charges filed in the Southern District of New York arising out of their
participation in a conspiracy to import kilogram quantities of heroin and
methamphetamine into the United States. On November 10, 2014, a superseding
Indictment was returned also charging the defendants with narcotics importation
offenses based on their delivery of 99 kilograms of heroin and two kilograms of
methamphetamine in Kenya, which they intended would be imported into the United
States. The four defendants will be presented and arraigned in Magistrate Court
later today.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, the
four defendants who arrived yesterday in New York ran a Kenyan drug trafficking
organization with global ambitions. For their alleged distribution of literally
tons of narcotics – heroin and methamphetamine – around the globe, including to
America, they will now face justice in a New York federal court.”
DEA Special Operations Division Special Agent in Charge
Raymond Donovan said: “DEA pursues the most dangerous global drug traffickers
who pose a direct threat to safety and stability around the world. We are
relentlessly pursuing these criminal groups and their facilitators at every
level with our law enforcement partners and we value and appreciate the work of
our Kenyan counterparts. It is critical that we attack these dangerous networks
before they can do even more damage worldwide and threaten innocent lives.”
According to the allegations in the superseding
Indictment[1]:
From in or about March 2014 through the date of their
arrests, BAKTASH AKASHA, IBRAHIM AKASHA, HUSSEIN, and GOSWAMI conspired to
import kilogram-quantities of heroin into the United States. During the same
period, BAKTASH AKASHA, IBRAHIM AKASHA, and GOSWAMI conspired to import
kilogram quantities of methamphetamine into the United States.
BAKTASH AKASHA is the leader of an organized crime family in
Kenya (the “Akasha Organization”) responsible for the production and
distribution of ton quantities of narcotics within Kenya and throughout Africa.
Moreover, the Akasha Organization’s distribution network extends beyond the
African continent to include the distribution of narcotics for importation into
the United States. IBRAHIM AKASHA is the brother and deputy of BAKTASH AKASHA.
GOSWAMI manages the Akasha Organization’s drug business, including the
production and distribution of methamphetamine and the procurement and
distribution of heroin. HUSSEIN – a resident of Pakistan and a long-time
associate of GOSWAMI – heads a transportation network that distributes massive
quantities of narcotics throughout the Middle East and Africa, and has
acknowledged responsibility for transporting tons of kilograms of heroin by
sea.
Over the course of several months, during telephone calls
and meetings in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya, the defendants agreed to supply,
and in fact did supply, multi-kilogram quantities of heroin and methamphetamine
to individuals they believed to be representatives of a South American
drug-trafficking organization, but who were in fact confidential sources (the
“CSes”) working at the direction and under the supervision of the DEA. BAKTASH
AKASHA, IBRAHIM AKASHA, and GOSWAMI negotiated on behalf of the Akasha
Organization to procure and distribute hundreds of kilograms of heroin from
suppliers in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region and to produce and distribute
hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine, which they understood would ultimately
be imported into the United States. At the same time, HUSSEIN agreed to
transport heroin from the Akasha Organization’s supplier in the
Afghanistan/Pakistan region to East Africa, so that it could be delivered to
the CSes.
During a meeting in Mombasa, Kenya, in April 2014, BAKTASH
AKASHA introduced a CS via Skype to one of his heroin suppliers in Pakistan,
who said he could provide 420 kilograms of 100 percent pure heroin – which he
called “diamond” quality – for distribution in the United States. Thereafter,
in June 2014, GOSWAMI began discussing with the CSes his ability to procure
methamphetamine precursor chemicals and to establish labs to produce
methamphetamine for importation to the United States. In a meeting in Mombasa
in September 2014, BAKTASH AKASHA introduced HUSSEIN as a narcotics transporter
from Afghanistan who moves ton quantities of narcotics using ships. BAKTASH
AKASHA and GOSWAMI described the supplier of heroin for their deal with the
CSes, to whom they referred as “the Sultan,” as the top supplier of white
heroin in the world.
In September and October 2014, IBRAHIM AKASHA personally
delivered one-kilogram samples of methamphetamine and heroin to the CSes in
Nairobi on behalf of the Akasha Organization. Thereafter, during a telephone
call in October 2014 between BAKTASH AKASHA, GOSWAMI, and one of the CSes,
GOSWAMI reported that 98 “chickens” had arrived, referring to 98 kilograms of
heroin. GOSWAMI said that the South American drug organization would only need
to pay for half of the 98 kilograms of heroin because the Akasha Organization
would cover the cost of remaining kilograms. Then, in early November, IBRAHIM
AKASHA personally delivered 98 kilograms of heroin to the CSes in Nairobi on
behalf of the Akasha Organization. A few days later, IBRAHIM AKASHA also
delivered another kilogram of methamphetamine.
In the course these negotiations, the Akasha Organization
provided a total of 99 kilograms of heroin and two kilograms of methamphetamine
to the confidential sources, and agreed to provide hundreds of kilograms more
of each. The defendants were arrested on November 9, 2014, in Mombasa, Kenya,
prior to another planned meeting with the CSes.
* * *
BAKTASH AKASHA, 40, is a Kenyan national and a resident of
Kenya. IBRAHIM AKASHA, 28, is also a Kenyan national and a resident of Kenya.
HUSSEIN, 61, is a Pakistani national and a resident of Pakistan. GOSWAMI, 55,
is an Indian national and a resident of Kenya. The defendants are charged with
conspiring to import heroin into the United States (Count One), conspiring to
import methamphetamine into the United States (Count Two), distributing heroin
for unlawful importation into the United States (Count Three), and distributing
methamphetamine for unlawful importation in the United States (Count Four).
Each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a
maximum sentence of life in prison. The minimum and maximum potential sentences
in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational
purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the
judge.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s
Special Operations Division’s Bilateral Investigations Unit. The Department of
Justice’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in bringing
the defendants to the United States to face charges. Mr. Bharara also thanked
the DEA’s Nairobi Country Office, the Government of the Republic of Kenya, the
Kenyan National Police Services Anti-Narcotics Unit, and members of the Kenyan
DEA Formal Vetted Unit.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and
International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D.
Lockard and Emil J. Bove III are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely
accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of
the text of the superseding Indictment, and the description of the superseding
Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact
described should be treated as an allegation.
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