US court sentences Ibrahim Akasha to 23 years in jail for drug trafficking

Ibrahim Akasha before Chief Magistrate Julius Neng'ea during the extradition proceedings at the Mombasa Court in 2016. [File, Standard]

A US court on Friday sentenced Ibrahim Akasha to 23 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin and methamphetamine and other crimes.

The sentence, imposed by US District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan federal court, was a victory for prosecutors, who had argued that Akasha had been a top lieutenant to his brother Baktash Akasha, the Akasha organization’s former leader, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison last August.