Sheikh Waseem Ul Haq, Pharmaceuticals Conspiracy, District of Columbia 2013

Two Pakistani nationals have been sentenced by Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, after pleading guilty to charges related to their operation of Internet sites that illegally shipped pharmaceuticals from Pakistan and the United Kingdom to customers in the United States.

Defendants Sheikh Waseem Ul Haq, 43, and Tahir Saeed, 54, operated Internet sites that, from late 2005 until October 2012, illegally shipped $2 million of pharmaceuticals from Pakistan and the United Kingdom to customers worldwide, including nearly $780,000 in sales to U.S. purchasers.

Ul Haq was sentenced today to time served. On Sept. 23, Saeed was sentenced to time served. Both defendants will remain in federal custody pending their removal from the United States to Pakistan.

In addition to their prison terms, each defendant agreed to forfeit $388,265.11. The defendants admitted that they owned and operated two businesses, Waseem Enterprises and Harry’s Enterprises. Both businesses were used to conduct wholesale pharmaceutical sales, as well as to unlawfully distribute a wide variety of controlled substances and prescription drugs through Internet sites.

The defendants directed U.S. customers to submit payments via Western Union to numerous individuals in Karachi, Pakistan, in order to conceal the fact that the funds were going to Ul Haq and Saeed. In e-mails, the defendants admitted that they paid bribes to Pakistani customs officials to facilitate shipment of the drugs out of Pakistan.

The drugs the defendants shipped into the United States included methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin); various anabolic steroids; alprazolam (sold as Xanax); diazepam (sold as Valium), lorazepam (sold as Ativan); clonazepam (sold as Klonapin) and other controlled and non-controlled substances.

This prosecution demonstrates how the use of the Internet to distribute drugs illegally is a major threat to consumers, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “We will enforce the law to protect consumers from adulterated, contaminated and counterfeit drugs and assure that only medically necessary drugs are dispensed by licensed pharmacists who are filling legitimately issued prescriptions by licensed physicians,” he added.

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