Who is Asif Hafeez, Lahore-born man jailed for 16 years in US?

A US court has sentenced Pakistani national Muhammad Asif Hafeez, once labeled the "Sultan of Drugs", to 16 years in prison on two drug trafficking charges, marking the conclusion of a major international legal battle that unfolded over nearly a decade.

The sentencing took place in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, where Judge Victor Marrero presided over the hearing. 

Hafeez, originally from Lahore, was arrested in London in August 2017 and extradited to the United States approximately three years later.

Accompanied by his attorney Steve Zissou and assisted by an Urdu interpreter, the 66-year-old received 192-month prison terms for each of the two charges, to be served concurrently. He was also ordered to undergo five years of supervised release following his incarceration.

The judge ruled that Hafeez’s prison sentence would be retroactively applied from his initial arrest on August 25, 2017, meaning he has already served nearly eight years behind bars. His full sentence will conclude in 2033.

Prosecutor Jane Chong, representing the US government, advocated for a punishment reflective of what she described as the "scale and global nature" of Hafeez’s narcotics operation. The defense, however, requested leniency, pointing to his age, health concerns, and the extended period he has already spent in detention both in the UK and the US

After considering arguments from both sides, the court issued its sentence and confirmed that the remaining charges were dismissed at the prosecution’s request.

In addition to the prison term, the court also ordered the forfeiture of assets linked to the drug trafficking case. While the exact value was not disclosed during the proceedings, the judge stated that a formal order outlining the amount would be submitted later. The court also waived interest on the forfeiture.

Despite Hafeez’s Pakistani nationality, the government of Pakistan did not comment or intervene at any stage of the case. According to his legal team, this lack of diplomatic support was a major disappointment. His family had made efforts to seek assistance from Pakistani authorities, but received no response.

The sentencing follows a recent court ruling rejecting Hafeez’s petition claiming the US government had violated the terms of a plea agreement. Hafeez argued he had been promised a maximum sentence of 10 years and that the prosecution’s request for a 23-year sentence was a breach of the agreement. Judge Marrero, however, ruled that the government had complied with the agreement and that advocating for a longer sentence fell within the permissible sentencing guidelines.

Hafeez had pleaded guilty on November 18, 2024, to two charges: conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and illegally import heroin into the US, and conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and illegally import methamphetamine and marijuana. His defense team claimed that the guilty plea was made under pressure, given the strict conditions of his detention.

Prosecutors allege that between 2013 and his arrest in 2017, Hafeez conspired with several individuals — including Baktash Akasha Abdalla, Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Gulam Hussein, and Vicky Goswami, the husband of Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni — to smuggle heroin into the United States.