Polo-loving drug lord's double life catches up with him

Muhammed Asif Hafeez led a double life that shocked many when it was revealed. On the surface, he appeared to be a successful global businessman and a respected ambassador for the prestigious Ham Polo Club in London. He mingled with the British elite, including members of the Royal Family such as Prince William and Prince Harry. Hafeez even provided detailed information to authorities in the UK and the Middle East, which helped intercept large shipments of illegal drugs. He claimed his motivation was a moral duty to fight crime. However, this was a carefully crafted image. In reality, US officials described him as one of the world's most prolific drug traffickers. From his home in the UK, Hafeez controlled a vast drug empire, supplying tonnes of heroin, methamphetamine, and hashish from Pakistan and India to markets worldwide. The gangs he informed on were actually his rivals, and his goal was to eliminate competition. Known in the criminal underworld as 'the Sultan,' Hafeez's reign ended after a complex operation by British and American authorities. He was extradited to the US in 2023, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges, and was sentenced to 16 years in a New York prison. Having been in custody since 2017, his sentence will conclude in 2033.

Born in 1958 in Lahore, Pakistan, Hafeez came from a comfortable middle-class family. He was one of six children, and his father owned a factory near the city. Hafeez trained as a commercial pilot before moving into business. From the early 1990s to the mid-2010s, he ran Sarwani International Corporation, a company with branches in Pakistan, the UAE, and the UK. The company claimed to sell technical equipment to militaries and police forces worldwide, including drug detection tools. Under Sarwani, Hafeez also owned a textiles company, an Italian restaurant franchise in Lahore, and a company near London specializing in polo and equestrian services. These businesses supported his luxurious lifestyle and gave him access to elite social circles. He was an international ambassador for the Ham Polo Club from 2009 to 2011 and was photographed with British princes at club events. However, some former employees suspected illegal activities, noting that large projects were paid only in cash with no bank records.

While Hafeez sent letters to authorities exposing rival drug cartels, these were part of his strategy to remove competition. In 2014, two of his associates met a supposed Colombian drug buyer in Kenya, who was actually an undercover agent working for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The meeting was secretly filmed and involved the sale of heroin and methamphetamine supplied by Hafeez, known as 'the Sultan. ' This sting operation led to the arrest of several key figures in the drug trade, including the Akasha brothers and Vijaygiri Goswami, who later cooperated with US prosecutors. Hafeez was arrested in London in 2017 and spent years fighting extradition to the US, claiming he was an informant and feared mistreatment in American prisons. These claims were rejected by courts, and he was extradited in 2023. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and was sentenced to prison. Prosecutors noted that unlike many traffickers driven by poverty, Hafeez had lived a privileged life but chose to profit from dangerous drugs that harm communities worldwide.