Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian-Origin Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami Linked To Pak-Afghan Drug Trade: US Prosecutor Preet Bhara

Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Feb, 2017 11:55 AM
    An Indian-origin man, who was allegedly a member of an international gang that trafficked drugs from Pakistan-Afghanistan region, was caught in Kenya and brought to the US to face narcotics charges, New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara has said.
     
    Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami and three others "ran a Kenyan drug trafficking organisation with global ambitions," Bharara said on Tuesday. 
     
    "For their alleged distribution of literally tonnes of narcotics - heroin and methamphetamine - around the globe, including to America, they will now face justice in a New York federal court," he added.
     
    The prosecution's account of the 2014 operation to bring down the gang known as "Akasha Organization" sounds like a thriller with undercover operatives who pretended to be South American drug dealers to infiltrate it and used Skype to communicate. 
     
    They code-named heroin "chickens" and touted its quality as "diamond." The operatives, described as "confidential sources" (CSs), were working under the direction of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
     
    Baktash Akasha Abdalla, Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Gulam Hussein and Goswami, who also called himself Vijay and Vicky, were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November, 2014, at the request of the US government and finally brought here on Monday, officials said. 
     
    They were to be produced before a federal magistrate judge later on Tuesday.
     
     
     
     
    The four were charged with narcotics offences based on their plan to export to the US 99 kilogram of heroin and two kilogram of methamphetamine that they brought to Kenya, the prosecution said.
     
    Hussein, described as a resident of Pakistan and a long-time associate of Goswami, headed a transportation network that distributed massive quantities of narcotics throughout the Middle East and Africa.
     
    Hussein has "acknowledged responsibility" for transporting tonnes of heroin by sea, according to the prosecution.
     
    Believing the operatives were South American drug cartel members, the four negotiated with them on behalf of the Akasha Organization to procure hundreds of kilos of heroin from suppliers in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region and to produce hundreds of kilos of methamphetamine to be sent to the US, the prosecution said.
     
    Hussein agreed to transport the heroin to East Africa, for delivery to the undercover operatives, according to the prosecution account.
     
    Goswami, meanwhile, told the operatives that the South American cartel would have to pay for only half the consignment of 98 kilogram of heroin that Ibrahim Akasha delivered to them, prosecutors said.
     
    The four men were arrested before another planned meeting with the operatives.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Proposal To Blacklist Jaish Chief Masood Azhar Should Be Reintroduced At UN: France

    Proposal To Blacklist Jaish Chief Masood Azhar Should Be Reintroduced At UN: France
    Throwing its weight behind India, France on Wednesday said it will ensure that the proposal to designate Pakistan-based JeM Chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist is "reintroduced" at the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. 

    Proposal To Blacklist Jaish Chief Masood Azhar Should Be Reintroduced At UN: France

    Barack Obama Thanks PM Narendra Modi For Strengthening Indo-US Ties

    Barack Obama Thanks PM Narendra Modi For Strengthening Indo-US Ties
    Outgoing US President Barack Obama telephoned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to thank him for his partnership that enhanced the relations between India and America, the White House has said.

    Barack Obama Thanks PM Narendra Modi For Strengthening Indo-US Ties

    Obama Appoints 2 Indian-Americans To Senior Administration Posts

    Obama Appoints 2 Indian-Americans To Senior Administration Posts
    With only hours to go until he leaves the White House, President Barack Obama appointed two Indian-Americans to key administration positions.

    Obama Appoints 2 Indian-Americans To Senior Administration Posts

    Indian-American Ajit Pai May Head U.S. Communication Commission

    Indian-American Ajit Pai May Head U.S. Communication Commission
    Trump's spokesperson Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that the meeting with Pai, who is the Republican nominee on the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), took place on Monday.

    Indian-American Ajit Pai May Head U.S. Communication Commission

    Indian-Origin Doctor Charged With Drug Trafficking

    Indian-Origin Doctor Charged With Drug Trafficking
    A 50-year-old Indian-origin doctor in the US has been charged with drug trafficking and money-laundering, according to federal authorities.

    Indian-Origin Doctor Charged With Drug Trafficking

    B.C. To Announce Latest Numbers Around Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths

    B.C. To Announce Latest Numbers Around Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths
    The number of fatalities in the province last year reached 755 up until the beginning of December, following a record-breaking 128 deaths in November.

    B.C. To Announce Latest Numbers Around Illicit Drug Overdose Deaths