Q24N – A human smuggling ring that helped people from Pakistan and Afghanistan illegally enter the United States by way of Brazil and South and Central America was publicly revealed as the ring’s Brasilia contact pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington on Wednesday.
Sharafat Ali Khan, 32, who U.S. authorities said is a Pakistani national and permanent resident of Brazil, pleaded guilty to serving as a facilitator for dozens of people from Pakistan who contacted him in Brazil, paid US$5,000 to US$12,000 each, then walked through the Colombian jungle or traveled north by bus, foot and plane, according to court filings.
The affidavit said the general route used by the smuggling operation went from Pakistan to Dubai, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.
The trips he arranged were long, arduous and dangerous, court filings assert. “The average traveler took approximately nine months to get from Brazil all the way to the United States. During the voyage from Brazil through South and Central America, aliens were subjected to harsh conditions that caused a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death,” the court records stated.
Khan faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison. But in a plea deal, both sides agreed to a sentencing range of 24 to 46 months.
Khan, who also used the pseudonym “Dr. Nakib,” was arrested July 14 in Washington D.C. after being extradited from Qatar, according to court documents.
“Khan is a well-known alien smuggler operating in Brazil,” Special Agent Frank Iervasi of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in an affidavit filed to support Khan’s arrest.
Khan’s indictment cited only six smuggled individuals, but he allegedly was identified by name or photograph by about 81 others who said he was the person who arranged their travel from Brazil between March 2014 through about May 2016.
The six immigrants, identified only by initials in court filings, are now in deportation proceedings in New York and Baltimore.
According to charging documents, several smuggled individuals said they were directed to Khan’s home or his telephone number, and some stayed in a house provided by Khan before further travel. Khan would tell the individuals to erase their phones or communications using his favored WhatsApp Messenger instant messaging application.
Sources say Khan works at an airport in Brazil, had many foreigners show up at his home looking for him, and kept foreign currencies and foreign documents of people from different countries “without any justification” .
Read the complete article at the Washingtonpost.com
