Details on the Akasha brothers plea bargain

Details are emerging of what led the Akasha brothers to plead guilty to charges of smuggling hard drugs to the United States of America.

According to an agreement between Ibrahim Akasha and the new York district attorney’s office,  Ibrahim was facing six counts related to the illegal international drug trade.

In one of the counts, Ibrahim is accused of manufacturing and distributing over 90 kilograms of heroin for unlawful importation into the US.

That he, Ibrahim,  conspired into the manufacture and distribution of 45 kilograms a drug or mixture of substances with detectable methamphetamine, an illegal central nervous system stimulant used for recreational purposes.

According to the deal, the drugs smuggled to the US by or through Akasha would be equivalent in value to 90,000 kilograms of marijuana.

Akasha is also charged with using machine guns and other destructive devices in furtherance of the drug trafficking.

When he pleaded guilty he also agreed with the charges that he obstructed justice by bribing officials against extradition to the US.

Having pleaded guilty Akasha now faces a maximum of life imprisonment, which is the total maximum for all the six counts.

Even though the court has the leeway to decide on the length of such sentence, he must serve at least 120 months of imprisonment equivalent to ten years.

For all the six counts, they might face a maximum fine of 1 billion shillings but a minimum of 5 million shillings which is subject to the court’s decision.

In addition, Akasha signed off not to lay any claim on the US government, meaning he cannot complain over how he was arrested and moved to the US even if he deems it un-procedural.

He must also forfeit all property acquired through the proceeds of the drugs smuggled to the US, he will also forfeit all Property that was used or was to be used in execution of the smuggling.

According to lawyer Cliff Ombeta who represented the Akasha brothers while in Kenya, the two risk being deported out of the US after completing the minimum ten year jail term in America.

They may also be eligible for parole, a temporary release before completion of a sentence on the promise of good behavior.

After the minimum ten years, the Akasha’s may also be pardoned.

The head of the Akasha family Ibrahim Akasha was gunned down in an assassination in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2000.

The family was worth an estimated Ksh.20 billion then.

Kamaldin Akasha, Baktash Akasha and Ibrahim Abdalla Akasha were left running the family business, before Kamaldin was shot dead in Makupa in Mombasa.

This left Baktash Akasha as the de facto head of the family.

In 2014, Baktash and Abdalla Akasha were among four suspects arrested in Nyali over their alleged involvement in trafficking 98 heroin packets.

The two brothers were extradited to the U.S in January 2017.

Their mother Fatma Akasha still maintains that her sons are innocent.