Washington DC – The United States on Tuesday tightened the noose around Dawood Ibrahim and his organized crime syndicate “D Company,” with the announcement that Chhota Shakeel and Ibrahim “Tiger” Memon have been listed as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers.
“Chhota Shakeel is Dawood’s lieutenant who coordinates for D Company with other organized crime and terror groups. Ibrahim “Tiger” Memon is a trusted lieutenant who controls the organization’s businesses across South Asia and is wanted by Indian authorities for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bombings,” noted the OFAC announcement.
With Interpol issuing provisional arrest warrants or “red notices” for Indian nationals Shakeel and Memon, the US identified their smuggling routes as including South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The drug trafficking activities of D Company are said to include the smuggling of heroin and hashish from Afghanistan and Thailand to the United States, Western Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
Dawood Ibrahim previously was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in October 2003, and in June 2006, he was named a Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker. In June 2006, the Dawood Ibrahim organization “D Company” was named a Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker.
“The Treasury continues to target the nexus of crime and terrorism in South Asia with today’s action against one of the world’s most notorious criminal organizations,” said Adam Szubin, Director, US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The result of the latest announcement is that US citizens are prohibited from conducting financial or commercial transactions with Shakeel and Memon, and any assets they may have under US jurisdiction are frozen.
The Treasury Department’s Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act has designated more than 1,100 individuals and entities linked to drug kingpins since June 2000.
Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5 million, while criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. (IATNS)