Reuters was first to report that Ibrahim was slapped with a 23-year jail term by US District Judge Victor Marrero in the Manhattan Federal Court.
US Attorney Jason Richman had pleaded with the judge to serve Ibrahim with a sentence similar to his brother, Baktash Akasha, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
“I would like to take the time to apologize to the families who were destroyed due to my dealings in drugs,” Ibrahim pleaded with the judge to have mercy on him and allow him to return to take care of his three children.
Ibrahim’s lawyer, Dawn Cardi, argued that Ibrahim was not as aggressive as his brother Baktash, and would have been handed a 10-year sentence.
She added that Ibrahim, 31, was only 10 years when their father, Akasha Abdallah, was assassinated in May 2000 at red-light district in Amsterdam.
Baktash then seized control of the empire.
“I thought the sentence was outrageous and totally unwarranted given the role that this young man played in this case,” Cardi stated after the sentencing hearing.
The Akasha’s were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, in November 2014 after the U.S led a comprehensive undercover operation.
Gulam Hussein, a Pakistani, and Vijaygiri Goswami, an Indian, were also arrested alongside the duo.
In October 2018, the brothers pleaded guilty after Goswami cooperated with the authorities and gave up crucial details that incriminated them.