Muhammad Asif Hafeez, a Lahore-based gold trader and Pakistani national, has admitted to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court. Hafeez, dubbed the “Sultan of Drugs” by law enforcement, played a central role in an international drug network implicated in distributing heroin, methamphetamine, and hashish over several decades.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, confirmed Hafeez’s guilty plea in Manhattan federal court, where he faces charges that carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment. The plea follows Hafeez’s extradition from London in 2023 after years of legal battles.
Hafeez, arrested in London in 2017, was accused of collaborating with co-defendants, including Baktash Akasha Abdalla and Vicky Goswami, to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. and other regions. Investigations revealed Hafeez’s involvement in multi-ton drug shipments and plans to establish a methamphetamine-production facility in Mozambique to supply markets in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.
The Akasha Organisation, led by Baktash Akasha, played a significant role in distributing narcotics across Africa and beyond. In 2014, samples of heroin linked to Hafeez and the organisation were delivered to undercover DEA agents in Nairobi. Baktash and Ibrahim Akasha have already been sentenced to lengthy prison terms in the U.S., while Goswami became a cooperating witness, testifying against his former accomplices.
Hafeez’s legal representatives have refrained from commenting on the plea due to protective orders in place. U.S. authorities have hailed the plea as a significant step in holding one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers accountable.
