Israeli charged in $2.5M coke case
An Israeli national accused of trying to transport millions of dollars worth of cocaine through Boston to the Middle East is facing a raft of charges thanks to an undercover investigation that acting U.S. Attorney William B. Weinreb hailed yesterday as “progress in the fight against international drug trafficking.”
Jalal Altarabeen, 33, arrived in Boston at 12:40 p.m. after he was arrested by Polish authorities on an American warrant and shipped back to the United States by U.S. marshals. Altarabeen is facing a slew of federal charges including international money laundering and conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Authorities say Altarabeen made a deal with an undercover agent working with the Drug Enforcement Agency to pay $2.5 million for 50 kilos of cocaine, which was to be brought from Colombia through Boston to a final destination in Israel.
“Boston is a significant transshipment point for drugs and a significant destination for drugs, this was an extremely high quantity amount of cocaine,” Weinreb said during a news conference yesterday. “Boston is the biggest city in New England and often a point where drugs come in. We have a serious drug problem here — as you all know — and that’s the result of drugs coming in through the city.”
On Feb. 9, 2016, two undercover agents met with Altarabeen in Bogota, Colombia to arrange the drug transaction, according to the affidavit. The deal was supposed to be the first of a series of transactions aimed at exporting drugs from Colombia to Israel by using Boston as a midway point, the affidavit added.
In six separate transactions last February, Altarabeen wired nearly $1 million from a bank in Turkey, court documents show.
At his initial appearance in federal court in Boston yesterday, prosecutors asked that Altarabeen remain in custody. A detention hearing and arraignment were set for Tuesday.
Another suspect in the plot, a Jordanian national, has been charged but remains at large, Weinreb said, declining to offer any details.
Weinreb called the investigation “progress in the fight against international drug trafficking” and said, “this case exposes the importance of interrupting large-scale drug trafficking before the drugs can be distributed.”