An Indian man who had smuggled drugs to the United States from India has been sentenced 33 months of jail time by a US court. Ramesh Buchirajam Akkela, known as Ramesh Bhai, was imprisoned on charges of smuggling drugs and money laundering after he was extradited to the United States from Panama, PTI reported.
The senior judge at the court Donetta W Ambrose sentenced him to jail Friday after he was found guilty of his crime involving mail fraud, conspiracy to smuggle drugs and money laundering, the news agency quoted the court statement.
The 44-year-old accused from Mumbai was detained in Panama last year. He had used an online website to deal drugs and smuggle them to provide for his American customers. He used to offer prescription drugs to his customers without asking them for any prescription. Akkela had shipped the drugs from India and distributed it in the US until he was caught.
According to the US Department of Justice statement, it said "According to the indictment, Akkela, an Indian internet-based supplier of prescription drugs - without prescriptions - to U.S. consumers, was charged with 10 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to misbrand and smuggle drugs, conspiracy to import Schedule IV controlled substances and two counts of money laundering."
Shardul S. Desai, an assistant United States attorney, prosecuted the case on behalf of the government, the statement further added.
In a similar incident, an Indian-American man was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to distribute illegal drugs that were imported from China. He was stripped of his US citizenship and faced deportation after the Department of Justice found out that he lied on his application stating that he had never committed any crime in the past.
Ismail Ali Khan, a resident of Decatur, Georgia, was arrested for conspiring to distribute male enhancement pills that had the same drug content found in Viagra. He was later sent back to India, PTI reported.
