Ghanaian gets 10 years for smuggling heroin

U.S. District Judge William Quarles Jr. yesterday sentenced Suleiman Ahmed Zakaria, 27, of Pikesville, to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for importing heroin into the United States from Ghana, according to a release by the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE).

The sentence was announced by Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein, ICE Agent-in-charge William Winter and Ricardo Scheller, director of Baltimore Port’s Customs and Border Protection.

According to trial testimony, on Jan. 26, 2010, border patrol officers at the Baltimore Washington International Airport inspected Zakaria as he entered the United States from London. The flight had originated in Accra, Ghana. More than approximately six pounds of heroin hydrochloride was found concealed within the lining of Zakaria’s luggage.

The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. U.S. Attorneys Peter Nothstein and Kwame Manley, prosecuted the case.