Close X
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
ADVT 
International

US Slaps Sanctions Against Indian Man For Running Drug Smuggling Network

Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Feb, 2019 09:30 PM

    The US has slapped sanctions against a UAE-based Indian man and his parents for allegedly running a global money laundering and smuggling network for heroin.


    The US Department of Treasury on Wednesday said Jasmeet Hakimzada, who lives in the UAE, runs a global drug trafficking network that smuggles heroin, cocaine, ephedrine, ketamine, and synthetic opioids into the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.


    Since 2008, Hakimzada has laundered hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit proceeds using his UAE-based company Maiwand General Trading Company LLC through financial institutions in the US, Brazil, India, Panama, the UAE and the UK, it alleged.


    The Department of Treasury also designated his parents and four entities registered in India or the UAE that form part of the narcotics trafficking organisation run by Hakimzada.


    “Jasmeet Hakimzada's global drug trafficking and money laundering network has been involved in smuggling heroin and synthetic opioids around the world,” said Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

     

    The Treasury said it designated Harmohan Hakimzada, Hakimzada's father, for him being primary partner in the drug trafficking and money laundering operation; and Eljeet Kaur, his mother, who serves as an officer in two front companies in India.


    The four entities designated today include three entities based in India — Maiwand Exim Private Limited, Maiwand Tobacco Limited, and Maiwand Beverages Limited — and UAE-based Maiwand General Trading Company LLC, which operates as a front for an array of illicit activities to include shipping narcotics and illegal pharmaceuticals as well as laundering large sums of narcotics proceeds.


    On April 5, 2017, a federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee indicted Hakimzada on 46 counts of drug trafficking and money laundering, the Treasury said in a media release.


    Over the course of three years from 2014 through 2016, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted an extensive investigation into Hakimzada's global narcotics and money laundering operation uncovering dozens of drug trafficking and money laundering-related transactions transiting the US involving numerous US banks, as well as drug shipments directly to the US using commercial international courier services.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Trump Assures 'Certainty, Path To Citizenship' For H1B Visa-Holders

    Trump Assures 'Certainty, Path To Citizenship' For H1B Visa-Holders
    H1-B holders in the US can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity and certainty to your stay, including a potential path to citizenship. 

    Trump Assures 'Certainty, Path To Citizenship' For H1B Visa-Holders

    7 Dead, 5 Critical In Cuban Bus Crash

    7 Dead, 5 Critical In Cuban Bus Crash
    HAVANA — Seven people died and five are in critical condition after a bus crashed carrying tourists and local travellers in far eastern Cuba.

    7 Dead, 5 Critical In Cuban Bus Crash

    With Gita Gopinath As IMF Chief Economist, 4 Women Now At Apex Of World Economy

    Four women will dominate the global economic policy sphere with eminent academic Gita Gopinath becoming the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) chief economist.

    With Gita Gopinath As IMF Chief Economist, 4 Women Now At Apex Of World Economy

    US Ready For 'Woman Of Colour': Kamala Harris Amid Talks On 2020 Race

    Harris, who published a new memoir this week ahead of likely 2020 presidential run, demurred on whether she will challenge President Donald Trump for the White House.

    US Ready For 'Woman Of Colour': Kamala Harris Amid Talks On 2020 Race

    New Zealand's Population Approaches 5 Million

    New Zealand's Population Approaches 5 Million
    New Zealand's population could hit five million by the end of 2019, the country's statistics department said on Thursday.  

    New Zealand's Population Approaches 5 Million

    Indian Content Damages Our Culture, Wont Allow Them On Our Channels: Pakistan's Chief Justice Saqib Nisar

    Pakistan's Chief Justice Saqib Nisar on Wednesday said that the country's Supreme Court will not allow Indian content to be shown on Pakistani TV channels as it "damages our culture".

    Indian Content Damages Our Culture, Wont Allow Them On Our Channels: Pakistan's Chief Justice Saqib Nisar