This archive report was first published on 17 August 2019.
On August 17, 2019, Manhattan United States Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman announced that Kenyan drug lord Baktash Akasha Abdalla had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in a massive international drug-trafficking operation.
Akasha, 41, was found guilty of conspiring to import large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine into the United States, as well as participating in a bribery scheme to evade extradition to the US.
As part of his sentence, Akasha was also ordered to pay a Ksh.10.3 million ($100,000) fine.
According to Berman, Akasha was once one of the world's most prolific and violent drug traffickers, but his 25-year sentence 'all but guarantees he will never profit from the illicit drug trade again.'
Akasha's brother, Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8, 2019, after also pleading guilty to the same charges.
The brothers were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, on November 9, 2014, on the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to import 99 kilos of heroin and two kilos of methamphetamine into the US.
