Years before he was targeted by federal police on suspicion of leading a transnational criminal organization specializing in migrant smuggling, Pakistani Sami Rahman (Featured image35, was caught red-handed while trying to secretly board a ship bound for the United States, paying a bribe of R$20,000 to an employee at the port terminal in Becem (CE).
The crime occurred in October 2015. At that time, Sami was accompanied by a Brazilian and four other Pakistanis. They wanted to board a ship that was heading to New York in the United States. The group aimed to reach Canada via the illegal route.
The Pakistani has been in Brazil since 2013, where he entered through Sao Paulo and requested asylum in the country. Later, he started living in Brasilia (DF).
According to a statement submitted to the authorities at the time of the events, Sami stated that, upon arriving in Brazil, he met a Pakistani in São Paulo, who offered to facilitate his and others’ entry into Canada. Once he arrived in Brasilia, he and a group of acquaintances had paid around R$30,000 to arrange the trip.
However, according to the report, months later the group received new instructions and traveled to Ceara, where they were to find local contacts able to assist in the secret boarding of a ship that would continue on to North America.
The group was then advised to attempt to board the port of Becem, and pay an additional R$20,000 for access to the terminal and ship.
The Federal District Court for the Fifth District (TRF-5) recognized that even if Sammy had no intention of boarding the ship and secretly going to Canada, he played an instrumental role in the commission of the crime.
According to the court, the Pakistani was responsible for transporting the value from Brasilia to Fortaleza, which would have made him, if not convinced of its authorship, at least a participant in the crime.
This episode was the subject of a criminal case in which the Pakistani was sentenced to 3 years and 9 months in prison, which was converted to restrictive sentences, on charges of human trafficking and active corruption.
Despite his conviction, Sammy continued to lead one of the country’s most lucrative and dangerous schemes to bring South Asian foreigners to the U.S. border.
The PF investigation shows that he used his freedom to reorganize and expand the scheme, assuming a central position in logistics, attracting clients, negotiating values and international financial transactions.
The international smuggling was covered up under the identity of an alleged Defense Forces businessman. While living in the capital, the Pakistani opened a travel agency business with address QAR 502 in Samambaya Sul, which allegedly served as a front for his illegal activities.
Illegal road
The police force operation revealed that the Pakistani led a transnational criminal organization specializing in migrant smuggling, with an operations center in the federal district, and with contacts in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mexico, and the United States.
Sami will be responsible for coordinating the clandestine entry of South Asian migrants into the United States, using Brazilian territory as a transit route.
The migrants entered Brazil through legal channels or on the basis of asylum claims, and were later transported by land and sea to the border with Mexico, where they clandestinely entered the United States after paying amounts ranging from US$4,000 to US$15,000.
The Pakistani was found to have acted in a repeated and systematic manner in facilitating illegal immigration, was recognized by numerous victims and international collaborators, and was directly involved in recruitment, logistics, financing and forgery of immigration documents, including through dialogue with foreign diplomats, as stated in the investigations.
There is also reference to other members of the organization, identified as having links to foreign envoys and responsible for negotiating fraudulent visas.
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Temporary imprisonment
On Wednesday (11/19), the National Police Forces launched the illegal Operation Rota with the aim of dismantling the criminal organization led by Pakistanis. The operation took place exclusively in the Federal District, where search and seizure orders, freezing and confiscation of assets were executed, in addition to the temporary arrest of Sami Rahman.
The Pakistani man was arrested in Samambaya Seoul, at his girlfriend’s house. He underwent a detention hearing and was detained in the 10th Federal District Court.
The court also ordered precautionary measures such as confiscating passports and restricting the movement of other suspects. The operation was supported by foreign intelligence agencies.
It was also approved to block assets worth R$5.94 million, including bank accounts, property, vehicles, ships, aircraft and crypto assets, attributed to the scheme.
National Front accounts indicate that the group made at least US$1.1 million (about R$5.94 million) in five years, not counting parallel gains obtained from the sale of forged documents, paid online mentoring and monetization of digital channels targeting migrants interested in reaching the USA.