Pakistani Man Sentenced To Prison For Human Smuggling Conspiracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Pakistani citizen who was "at the center of a vast human smuggling network" was sentenced to 31 months in prison Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced. Sharafat Ali Khan, 32, a Pakistani citizen and former resident of Brazil, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to smuggle undocumented migrants into the United States for profit on April 12.

According to his plea agreement, Khan and his co-conspirators organized and arranged the smuggling of large numbers of undocumented migrants from Pakistan and elsewhere through Brazil and Central America, and then into the U.S. Khan said the operations took place between March 2014 and May 2016.

“Sharafat Khan organized an intricate network that was open to the highest bidder to transport undocumented migrants, regardless of who they were, from Pakistan and elsewhere through Brazil and Central America and then into the United States,” Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement.

“...Today’s sentencing highlights our relentless law enforcement efforts, both foreign and domestic, to track down organizations who make a profit from smuggling undocumented migrants through U.S. borders without prejudice and with a clear disregard for those who may end paying the final price,” Melendez said.

Khan admitted he managed safe houses for the migrants and arranged a network of associates in other countries to serve as escorts during the smuggling route. He also said the voyages included "harsh conditions that caused a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death," prosecutors said. For example, migrants hiked with little food and water through the Darien Gap, a dangerous tropical forest area in Panama.

“Sharafat Khan was at the center of a vast human smuggling network that preyed on the desperation of foreign nationals hoping to get into the United States,” U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia said in a statement. “He was responsible for organizing, coordinating, and controlling smugglers and lower-level associates of the operation. His actions put his clients – and the United States – at significant risk. His arrest, conviction and sentence should deter others from engaging in this rapacious, dangerous conduct.”

Khan was extradited to the United States from Qatar on July 13, 2016. Following his prison term, he will be deported back to Pakistan.

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