Akasha Organized Crime family oversaw massive global heroin
and meth trafficking enterprise
DEA and the Southern District of New York today announced
the arrival of four individuals from Kenya to New York charged with
participating in a massive global drug trafficking enterprise, and includes the
leader of a well-known organized crime family in Africa.
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.
“DEA pursues the most dangerous global drug traffickers who
pose a direct threat to safety and stability around the world,” said DEA
Special Operations Division Special Agent in Charge Raymond Donovan. “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.”
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.”
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.
DEA’s
Special Operations Division’s Bilateral Investigations Unit led the
investigation. The Department of
Justice’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in bringing
the defendants to the United States to face charges. 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 were also instrumental
in the case.
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