Two individuals have been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to charges related to a scheme involving the operation of internet sites to illegally ship pharmaceuticals from the United Kingdom and Pakistan to customers in the U.S., according to the Department of Justice.
According to the DOJ, Sheikh Waseem Ul Haq and Tahir Saeed illegally shipped $2 million of pharmaceuticals worldwide from 2005 until October 2012. The defendants allegedly shipped $780,000 in pharmaceuticals to U.S. purchasers during that time.
Mr. Ul Haq and Mr. Saeed were sentenced to time served. Both defendants, who were arrested in October 2012 at a hotel near Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom and extradited to the U.S. in 2013, will remain in custody pending their removal from the U.S. to Pakistan. Each defendant also agreed to forfeit $388,265 in addition to their prison sentences.
Mr. Ul Haq pleaded guilty to all 48 counts of the indictment. Mr. Saeed pleaded guilty to three counts.Both defendants admitted to owning and operating Waseem Enterprises and Harry's Enterprises, both in Pakistan. The businesses were allegedly used to unlawfully distribute pharmaceuticals and a wide variety of controlled substances and prescription drugs through internet sites.
The co-conspirators said they directed U.S. customers to make payments to a variety of individuals in Pakistan to conceal that the funds were going to Mr. Ul Haq and Mr. Saeed. Both individuals also admitted to bribing Pakistani customs officials to transport the pharmaceuticals outside of Pakistan. The drugs included methylphenidate, sold as Ritalin; alprazolam, sold as Xanax; diazepam, sold as Valium; and clonazepam, sold as Klonapin, among other controlled and uncontrolled substances, according to the DOJ.