PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MOHAMMED AFZAL NABIBUX ("AFZAL"), a citizen of the United Kingdom, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to import heroin into the United States. AFZAL, 57, pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge RONALD L. ELLIS. Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: "International drug traffickers present a tremendous threat to our country and our communities. As this case makes clear, we are committed to stopping the flow of narcotics from overseas into the United States, and to working with all of our law enforcement partners here, in Europe, and around the world, in bringing the people who export this poison to justice."
According to the Indictment to which AFZAL pled guilty, documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court, statements made during the guilty plea proceeding, and other information in the public record: From July through October 2009, AFZAL NABIBUX and his son ZAMEER NABIBUX ("ZAMEER") participated in an international drug trafficking organization with operations in several countries, including countries in Europe, South America, and the Middle East. In September 2009, they discussed the shipment of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from South America to Europe, by airplane and container ship, with two DEA confidential sources who purported to offer narcotics transportation services.
AFZAL and ZAMEER subsequently agreed to sell the two confidential sources ten kilograms of heroin for distribution in the United States. Their plan was to use those ten kilograms as a test shipment. Future ventures would be considered if it proved successful. AFZAL and ZAMEER stated that they planned to obtain the heroin from Pakistan and to transport it by plane to Milan, Italy, via Turkish Airlines, concealed in two suitcases.
ZAMEER was arrested by Spanish authorities at the request of the United States on October 14, 2009, when he traveled to Madrid, Spain, to discuss payment for the heroin with one of the confidential sources. AFZAL was arrested two days later, also by Spanish authorities at the request of the United States, when he traveled to Spain to determine what had happened to his son. ZAMEER was extradited to the United States on September 28, 2010. AFZAL was extradited to the United States on October 29, 2010.
AFZAL pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge LEWIS A. KAPLAN on July 19, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. ZAMEER’s case is still pending.
Mr. BHARARA praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the DEA's Madrid Country Office, and DEA’s Rome Country Office. He also thanked the Spanish National Police and the Italian Polizia di Stato, Questura di Bologna, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs for their ongoing assistance.
The case is being handled by the Office's Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys BENJAMIN NAFTALIS, AIMEE HECTOR, and JENNA DABBS are in charge of the prosecution.
According to the Indictment to which AFZAL pled guilty, documents previously filed in Manhattan federal court, statements made during the guilty plea proceeding, and other information in the public record: From July through October 2009, AFZAL NABIBUX and his son ZAMEER NABIBUX ("ZAMEER") participated in an international drug trafficking organization with operations in several countries, including countries in Europe, South America, and the Middle East. In September 2009, they discussed the shipment of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from South America to Europe, by airplane and container ship, with two DEA confidential sources who purported to offer narcotics transportation services.
AFZAL and ZAMEER subsequently agreed to sell the two confidential sources ten kilograms of heroin for distribution in the United States. Their plan was to use those ten kilograms as a test shipment. Future ventures would be considered if it proved successful. AFZAL and ZAMEER stated that they planned to obtain the heroin from Pakistan and to transport it by plane to Milan, Italy, via Turkish Airlines, concealed in two suitcases.
ZAMEER was arrested by Spanish authorities at the request of the United States on October 14, 2009, when he traveled to Madrid, Spain, to discuss payment for the heroin with one of the confidential sources. AFZAL was arrested two days later, also by Spanish authorities at the request of the United States, when he traveled to Spain to determine what had happened to his son. ZAMEER was extradited to the United States on September 28, 2010. AFZAL was extradited to the United States on October 29, 2010.
AFZAL pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge LEWIS A. KAPLAN on July 19, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. ZAMEER’s case is still pending.
Mr. BHARARA praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the DEA's Madrid Country Office, and DEA’s Rome Country Office. He also thanked the Spanish National Police and the Italian Polizia di Stato, Questura di Bologna, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs for their ongoing assistance.
The case is being handled by the Office's Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys BENJAMIN NAFTALIS, AIMEE HECTOR, and JENNA DABBS are in charge of the prosecution.
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