Roger Khan pleads not guilty to 18 counts of drug charges
Kaieteur News
February 27, 2007
Shaheed Khan, called Roger Khan and Short Man, made another appearance in the court in the Eastern District of New York, yesterday, and pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of drug possession and drug distribution charges.
His lawyer, Robert Simmels, described the new charges as an expansion of the old charge in which all the counts were contained in the single charge. That charge alleged that Khan imported, conspired to import and distribute, and possessed cocaine for the purpose of distribution on a number of dates between 2001 and 2006.
Yesterday, the prosecution split the charges to specify particular dates when Khan either imported, conspired to import, distributed, conspired to distribute, and possessed cocaine. It also maintained the initial charge of conspiring to import cocaine.
One new count alleges that Khan distributed, and was in possession of cocaine with intent to distribute cocaine on March 19, 2003.
Another alleged that he distributed cocaine and was in possession of cocaine with intent to distribute on March 25, 2003; and again on March 28, 2003.
Then there is a count that accuses Khan of conspiring to import cocaine. He is also charged for being part of an international distribution conspiracy.
Prosecutor Roslynn R. Mauskoff, who presented the new indictments in court yesterday, is contending that Khan imported, conspired to import, and distribute cocaine in December 2003, March 2004, April 2004, and May 2004.
She is also accusing Khan of importing cocaine on March 3, 2005. Another indictment accuses Khan of importing cocaine into the United States on eight occasions between February 2003 and May 2004.
Khan's lawyer, Simmels, described the 18 new indictments as an attempt to get around things. He said that there is no new information, but a case of providing more details on the same old charges.
And, yesterday, the judge directed the Bureau of Prisons to explain, within a week, the reason why Khan was being held in very restrictive conditions at the Federal Prison in Downtown Manhattan. His lawyer said that he is being held in a restrictive area.
Khan was previously held in a detention centre in Brooklyn 's Eastern District.
Simmels said that he could not understand the move, in the first instance. Khan had initially sought permission to use a laptop computer to do research into his case, but the prosecution objected that Khan could access people outside the system.
The prosecution then said that Khan could access the computers within the prison system. At that point, things changed and Khan began to be viewed in the same light as terrorists, hence the restrictive prison facilities.
Khan is expected to return to court next week. If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.