Pak national pleads guilty to smuggling migrants into US

A 32-year-old Pakistani national has pleaded guilty in a US court to the charges of smuggling undocumented migrants into the US.
Sharafat Ali Khan along with other co-conspirators arranged the unlawful smuggling of large numbers of undocumented migrants to the US between March 2014 and May 2016, according to admissions in the plea agreement.
For their smuggling operation, Khan admitted that he and his co-conspirators used a network of facilitators to transport undocumented migrants from Pakistan and elsewhere through Brazil and Central America and then into the United States by land, air or sea travel.
Khan, who was extradited to the US from Qatar on July 13, 2016, further admitted that he was responsible for managing safe houses for the migrants and arranging a network of associates in other countries to serve as escorts during different legs of the smuggling route, the Justice Department said.

He also admitted that voyage included harsh conditions that caused a substantial risk of serious injuries or death including lengthy foot hikes with little food and water through the Darien Gap, a dangerous tropical forest area in Panama, federal prosecutors alleged.
Judge Walton scheduled Khan's sentencing hearing for July 6, 2017.