US sanctions Indian family over alleged narco trade

WASHINGTON: US authorities imposed sanctions Wednesday 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."