Suspected Mombasa Drug Lord Extradited to the US

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration  agents
United States Drug Enforcement Administration agents
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United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss, announced on Monday, January 25 that Mansur Mohamed Surur, also known as “Mansour,” a Kenyan citizen, was extradited from Kenya to the US.

According to a statement from the US Department of Justice, Surur was arrested by Kenyan authorities on July 29, 2020, in Mombasa on charges of conspiracy to traffic rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, and illegal poaching of more than 35 rhinoceros and 100 elephants. 

In addition, the suspect was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to distribute and possess more than 10 kilograms of heroin. 

Mansur Mohamed Surur alias Mansour at Nairobi’s Milimani law court on September 28, 2020
Mansur Mohamed Surur alias Mansour at Nairobi’s Milimani law court on September 28, 2020
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Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  

In addition, she thanked law enforcement authorities and conservation partners in Uganda as well as the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Kenyan Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji for their assistance in the investigation.  

“Mansur Mohamed Surur is alleged to be a member of an international conspiracy to traffic in rhino horns, elephant ivory, and heroin.  The enterprise is allegedly responsible for the illegal slaughter of dozens of rhinos and more than 100 elephants, both endangered species. 

“The excellent work of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the DEA has put an end to this operation,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said.   

Around March 16, 2018, law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing a black rhinoceros horn believed to have been sold by the Surur and his co-accused to a confidential source that was intended for a buyer represented to be in New York.

Surur, 60, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking and two counts of wildlife trafficking, which each carry a maximum sentence of five years; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. 

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by the US Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Surur’s co-defendant, Moazu Kromah,also known as Ayoub, Ayuba, or Kampala Man, a citizen of Liberia, was previously deported to the United States from Uganda on June 13, 2019.  

Co-defendant Amara Cherif, also known as Bamba Issiaka, a citizen of Guinea, was extradited to the United States from Senegal on April 3, 2020. 

Co-defendant Abdi Hussein Ahmed, alias Abu Khadi, a citizen of Kenya, remains a fugitive.

Surur is expected to be arraigned before US  Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.  The case has been assigned to US District Judge Gregory H. Woods.          

According to the indictment, the suspects are alleged to be members of a transnational criminal enterprise based in Uganda and neighbouring countries.

The syndicate was linked to the large-scale trafficking and smuggling of rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both protected wildlife species.

Trade involving endangered or threatened species violates both Kenyan and US laws, as well as international treaties.

The suspects were accused of committing the felonies from December 2012 to May 2019.

The contraband items were believed to have been transported from East Africa countries, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania, to buyers located in the United States and countries in Southeast Asia.  

Such weights of rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory are estimated to have involved the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than approximately 100 elephants. 

In total, the estimated average retail value of the rhinoceros horn involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately Ksh 374,170,000, and the estimated average retail value of the elephant ivory involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately Ksh 440,200,000.

US detectives established that the items were concealed in among other things, pieces of art such as African masks and statues. 

The authorities obtained evidence against the suspects in the form of wire bank transfers, phone calls, text messages and physical meetings.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss
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