NEW YORK (TIP): On January 31, 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”), announced that four individuals including an Indian charged with participating in a narcotic importation conspiracy arrived in New York from Kenya.

Vijay Giri Anandgiri Goswami, 55, is an Indian national and a resident of Kenya. 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. They 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 State.

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.

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.”