By Bill Parry
A worldwide drug trafficking ring has been smashed and four Queens residents are among the 17 defendants indicted Friday morning. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced that the gang had flooded New York City with several tons of khat, a plant containing controlled substances similar to amphetamines, that is popular in eastern Africa.
The 215-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn Supreme Court charges that the defendants obtained khat in Yemen, Kenya and Ethiopia and trafficked it around New York, Massachusetts and Ohio. The ring then laundered the proceeds in Minnesota and wired the money to various locations including Dubai and England.
“Khat is a dangerous and illegal drug with worldwide reach,” Schneiderman said. “As a result of this international takedown, a sophisticated operation accused of bringing drugs into the United States and sending the profits overseas has been shut down.”
Khat comes from a shrub native to the Horn of Africa. When chewed is releases a psychoactive drug called cathinone into the bloodstream acting as a stimulant.
The four Queens resident swept up in the arrests all have the last name Seidi, but are not related according to the Attorney General’s office. Wail, 21; Nabil, 35; Mohamed, 26 and Abubaker, who is the oldest at 39.
“Illegal drugs can find their way into our city from any corner of the world via organized criminal networks,” Bratton said. “Through the far-reaching capabilities of our joint law enforcement partners these criminals can be tracked down and brought to justice wherever they are located.” Among the others arrested were five from Brooklyn and another five from upstate Rochester.
The NYPD were assisted by the New York State Police, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Customs and Border Protection in the nearly year-long investigation.
Today’s indictment charges the 17 co-conspirators with crimes including operating as a major drug trafficker and various counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, money laundering and conspiracy to commit those crimes. Operating as a major trafficker is the only felony narcotics charge that carries a possible life sentence.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
