Kenyan drug lord Ibrahim Akasha was handed a tough sentence by a US court on Friday, January 10, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin and methamphetamine among other crimes.
Reuters was first to report that Ibrahim was slapped with a 23-year jail term by US District Judge Victor Marrero in the Manhattan Federal Court.
US Attorney Jason Richman had pleaded with the judge to serve Ibrahim with a sentence similar to his brother, Baktash Akasha, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
“I would like to take the time to apologize to the families which were destroyed due to my dealings in drugs," Ibrahim pleaded with the judge to have mercy on him and allow him to return to take care of his three children.
Ibrahim's lawyer, Dawn Cardi, argued that he was not as aggressive as his brother Baktash, and should have been handed a 10-year sentence.
She added that Ibrahim, 31, was only 10 years when their father, Akasha Abdallah, was assassinated in May 2000 at red-light district in Amsterdam.
Baktash then seized control of the empire.
“I thought the sentence was outrageous and totally unwarranted given the role that this young man played in this case,” Cardi stated after the sentencing.
Renown attorney, Cliff Ombeta, who represented them in Kenya, lashed out at the US and accused them of forcing the duo into a confession.
"They have taken away their youthful days. This is after they informed them that they would give them a lesser sentence if they confessed. Do you think the Akasha's are the kind of people to open their mouth and agree to something so incriminating? Funny enough their case dragged on for longer in the US than in Kenya. They came up with reports that the brothers bribed magistrates but could not prove who was bribed or where the incidents happened. For me, justice was not served," Ombeta informed Kenyans.co.ke.
The Akasha's were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November 2014 after the US-led a comprehensive undercover operation.
Gulam Hussein, a Pakistani, and Vijaygiri Goswami, an Indian, were also arrested alongside the duo.
In October 2018, the brothers pleaded guilty after Goswami cooperated with the authorities and gave up crucial details that incriminated them.
