Roger Khan scheduled to be released in days
Convicted drug smuggler, Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan, who was sentenced to 15 years in a US prison back in 2009, is set to be released in a matter of days. According to the US Bureau of Prisons, Khan, 47, described as a “black” male, is in a Miami, Florida prison. The release date is scheduled for Monday, July 8, 2019. Recently, US ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch, during a radio show, reportedly said that there is close collaboration with the Guyanese authorities, on making sure that the arrival of Khan is as smooth as possible. Things have changed dramatically since Khan, on the run from authorities here, was arrested in neighbouring Suriname and then flown to Trinidad where US agents took control of him. He was taken to New York and charged. There is a new government in place. The police force has a new look with closer collaboration with the US embassy. Khan, who was jailed in October 2009 for up to 15 years, asked the US court earlier this year to release him early, based on new regulations. Khan told the Southern Florida court that he is entitled to additional good time credits, in keeping with the enacted First Step Act passed last year in the US. Khan is making the petition via a writ of habeas corpus.
He is seeking an order from the court directing the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to award him the credits. Khan was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment on three separate charges by US Judge, Dora Irizarry, in 2009 after she accepted the plea bargain agreement he had reached with prosecutors. However, two of the sentences, 10 years for an illegal firearm possession charge, and 15 years for witness tampering, would have run concurrently with the other 15-year jail term.
Khan, who was arrested in Suriname and escorted to the United States of America in 2006, had entered a plea bargain deal with US prosecutors on March 16, 2009. In addition to the jail time, Roger Khan will have had to undergo supervised release for five years although according to the judge, he is likely to be deported. He was well-known in Guyana for allegedly working with the late Ronald Gajraj, a minister of the People’s Progressive Party, to execute a number of criminals who were terrorizing the country. However, Khan was also accused of executing competitors in the drug trade. He was deeply feared and owned several properties. He even built a housing scheme at Farm, East Bank Demerara. He fled to Suriname in 2006 after the authorities issued a wanted bulletin for him. He was reportedly nabbed there with drugs and cash. His case in New York was closely watched with his lawyer, Robert Simels, later jailed for witness tampering.
(Kaieteur News)