By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA
A ZAMBIAN, Henry Shula Kasolo, who was arrested in the United States, has pleaded guilty to a charge of importation of heroin into that country which attracts a maximum sentence of 40 years imprisonment or a fine of US$5 million.
This is according to a plea agreement entered between Kasolo and the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Raj Parekh pursuant to rule 11 of the Federal rules of criminal procedure.
Kasolo was arrested and charged for five counts of conspiring to import various quantities of drugs to the United States.
“The defendant agrees to plead guilty to count two of the indictment, charging the defendant with importation of 100 grams or more of heroin, a scheduled I controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C 952 (a) and 960 (a). The maximum penalties for this offence are: a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum term of 40 years of imprisonment, a fine of $5 million, forfeiture of assets as outlined below, a special assessment pursuant to 18 U.S.C 3013, and a minimum supervised release term of four years.”
“The defendant understands that any supervised release term is in addition to any prison term the defendant may receive, and that a violation of a term of supervised release could result in the defendant being returned to prison for the full term of supervised release,” read the plea agreement.
Following his plea of guilt in count two, the condition of the execution of the agreement is that the US will move to dismiss the remaining four counts pending against him at the conclusion of his sentencing hearing.
According to the indictment, between 2019 and June, 2021, Kasolo did unlawfully, knowingly, and intentionally combine , conspire, confederate, and agree with others both known and unknown, and intentionally import into the US, from a place outside thereof, one kg or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, a scheduled I controlled substance.
Some of the methods used to import the drugs included smuggling heroin inside of packages sent through mail.
