| In SDNY Rhino Horn Case
Amara Cherif Asks Judge For Sentencing
Exposure Citing FRPC 32
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
August 19 – While many even
most cases in the Magistrates
Court of the U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York are
sealed, on
June 13, 2019
SDNY then-US
Attorney Geoffrey
L. Berman
announced the
indictment of
four citizens
of African nations
for trafficking
in rhino horn, elephant
ivory and heroin
into New York
and that
one of them, a
Liberian named
"Kampala Man," had
earlier in the
day been
arraigned in
the Magistrates
Court. But even an
hour later,
the case file
or docket for
19-cr-338
said "This
case is under
seal.
On
December
11, 2019
assigned U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York Judge
Gregory H.
Woods held a
proceeding in
the case, or
tried to. The
interpreter
was not doing
simultaneous
or even complete
interpretation.
Judge Woods
reminded him
this was necessary,
as he
translated the
defendants
request to
know the name
of the judge.
There was told
of physical
ailments.
Now docketed
on August 19
is Amara
Cherif's
letter to
Judge Woods:
"I am
contacting you
to request an
official court
analysis of my
sentence
exposure,"
citing Federal Rule of
Criminal
Procedure
32(e)(1). The letter
is dated June
26 but took
seven weeks to
docket - as,
for example,
the letters to Judge
Woods from
FINCEN leaker
Natalie
Edwards should
also be
docketed.
Watch this
site.
It is US
v. Kromah,
19-cr-338
(Woods).
In connection
with
Judge Woods'
hearing Inner
City Press was
contacted
and told that
Surur has been
ordered extradited.
We added it with
h/t, below. Now on
January
25, it's confirmed:
"Audrey
Strauss, the
United States
Attorney for
the Southern
District of
New York,
announced
today that
MANSUR MOHAMED
SURUR, a/k/a
“Mansour,” a
Kenyan
citizen, was
extradited
from Kenya and
arrived in the
United States
this
morning.
SURUR was
arrested by
Kenyan
authorities on
July 29, 2020,
in Mombasa,
Kenya, on
charges of
conspiracy to
traffic in
rhinoceros
horns and
elephant
ivory, both
endangered
wildlife
species, which
involved the
illegal
poaching of
more than
approximately
35 rhinoceros
and more than
100
elephants.
In addition,
SURUR was
charged with
conspiracy to
commit money
laundering and
conspiracy to
distribute and
possess with
intent to
distribute
more than 10
kilograms of
heroin.
SURUR’s
co-defendant,
Moazu Kromah,
a/k/a “Ayoub,”
a/k/a “Ayuba,”
a/k/a “Kampala
Man,” a
citizen of
Liberia, was
previously
deported to
the United
States from
Uganda on June
13,
2019.
Co-defendant
Amara Cherif,
a/k/a “Bamba
Issiaka,” a
citizen of
Guinea, was
extradited to
the United
States from
Senegal on
April 3,
2020.
Co-defendant
Abdi Hussein
Ahmed, a/k/a
“Abu Khadi,” a
citizen of
Kenya, remains
a
fugitive.
SURUR is
expected to be
arraigned
later today
before
U.S.
Magistrate
Judge Debra
Freeman.
The case has
been assigned
to U.S.
District Judge
Gregory H.
Woods. "
Inner
City Press
first reported:
Surur is
facing, and trying
to fight,
extradition, h/t
The
case is US v.
Kromah,
19-cr-338
(Woods). US v.
Kromah,
19-cr-338
(Woods).
***
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