US sanctions Indian man, parents for role in global drug smuggling ring

US authorities on Wednesday imposed sanctions on an Indian man and his parents for their roles in an alleged global smuggling network for heroin, opioids and other drugs. The US Treasury Department said Jasmeet Hakimzada, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, is a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker” who since 2008 has laundered hundreds of millions of dollars. “Hakimzada’s global drug trafficking and money laundering network has been involved in smuggling heroin and synthetic opioids around the world,” Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. “This action is a result of years of effort with our US and foreign partners.” Treasury designated Hakimzada’s parents, who also live in the UAE, as traffickers, describing the father as his “primary” trafficking and laundering partner and the mother as an officer for two front companies in India. Hakimzada has allegedly smuggled heroin, cocaine, ephedrine, ketamine and synthetic opioids into the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, Treasury said. Source: Hindustan Times