Shahbaz Khan, Narcotics Offenses, New York 2016

"Shahbaz Khan was an international drug kingpin who distributed staggering quantities of narcotics from southwest Asia to countries throughout the world," said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. "In 2016, he agreed to transport tens of thousands of kilograms of heroin to New York City. Today's sentence shows that we will continue to seek justice against those who flood our communities with heroin and other deadly, highly addictive drugs that fuel the opioid epidemic plaguing this city."

Shahbaz Khan, 71, a Pakistani national and former head of a Pakistani drug trafficking network, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiring and attempting to import massive quantities of heroin into the United States.

Khan was taken into custody by Liberian authorities on December 1, 2016, and expelled to the United States later that day, based on a pending Complaint in this District. He previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, who imposed today's sentence.

According to the Complaint, the Superseding Indictment, and other filings in this case, Khan was the leader of a drug trafficking organization (the "DTO") based in Afghanistan and Pakistan that produced and distributed massive quantities of narcotics around the world.

In 2007, Khan was designated a Narcotics Kingpin under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act by then-President George W. Bush. In total, Khan and the DTO distributed hundreds of tons of drugs.

In addition to the prison term, Khan was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the DEA's Special Operations Division's Bilateral Investigations Unit; the DEA Accra, Canberra, Sydney, Dubai, Islamabad, Kabul, Nairobi, and New Delhi Country Offices; and the Liberian authorities.

"This case is a prime example of the DEA's commitment to disrupting and dismantling the networks that bring deadly narcotics into our communities," said Special Agent in Charge, DEA New York Field Division, James J. Hunt. "We will continue to work tirelessly to identify and bring to justice those who would seek to exploit our citizens and undermine our great nation."

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-head-pakistani-drug-trafficking-network-sentenced-15-years-prison-narcotics