This archive report was first published on 11 January 2020.
On January 11, 2020, US District Judge Victor Marrero handed down a 23-year prison sentence to Ibrahim Akasha, a key figure in the notorious Akasha drug trafficking organization, for his role in heroin and methamphetamine trafficking.
The sentence was a result of a US-led sting operation that began in 2014, when Akasha and his brother Baktash were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya. The brothers were later extradited to the US, where they pleaded guilty to various crimes in October 2018.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Richman had urged the judge to impose a similar sentence to that of Baktash, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in August 2019. Richman argued that Ibrahim had acted as his brother's right-hand man and had engaged in extreme violence.
However, Ibrahim's attorney, Dawn Cardi, had sought a sentence of 10 years, arguing that her client had a lesser role in the organization.
The sentencing was welcomed by anti-drug abuse activists in Kilifi County, who called on the government to step up the fight against narcotics trafficking. Famau Mohammed Famau, Chairman of MAARUFU Anti Drugs Organization, praised the US justice system and urged the Kenyan Judiciary to emulate its approach in prosecuting those found culpable of drug trafficking.
