Who is Asif Hafeez? Business tycoon in London, close to British royal family, now faces 16 years in jail due to..., was called...
This 'Sultan' created an empire, from the opium fields of Afghanistan to drug markets in Europe, Africa, and the United States, utilizing the illegal trade and black-market employment and giving himself a proper appeal as a reputable man. Asif Hafeez, while operating an international drug cartel, was a shadowy figure among the criminal element, but on the surface, he ran legitimate businesses and reportedly paid tax on his profits. He was viewed as a respectable businessman who made charitable contributions from a portion of his profits to humanitarian causes. He created the facade that shielded the vast, widespread enums of criminal activity that propelled his drug empire.
The secret life of Asif Hafeez began to unravel in 2014, when an undercover U.S. agent recorded a meeting in Kenya between Hafeez's business associates and a Colombian drug buyer. This sting operation set off a chain of revelations that eventually led to his arrest, a lengthy extradition battle, and his sentencing in the United States.
Hafeez was born in 1958 in Lahore, Pakistan and was a middle class citizen. He began to climb the business ranks, and in the early 1990s, established Sarwani International Corporation. Initially, Sarwani had a reputation as the project of a well-heeled, white-collar businessman, and part of his assets included commercial drug detection equipment for military use, textiles, and a restaurant in Lahore. The profits from these businesses had developed cash that enabled Hafeez to live an extraordinarily lavish lifestyle. He used his fortune to develop relationships with wealthy, influential (and corrupt) people; access to their personal networks in turn was essential for maintaining and hiding his illicit activities behind the pretense of legitimacy.
According to a BBC report, between 2009 and 2011, Asif Hafeez held a prominent role at the prestigious Ham Polo Club. It was during this period that he came into contact with members of the British royal family—although it was later revealed that he was never officially a member of the club. His perceived status as a respectable businessman was further reinforced by his connections with Britain's elite social circles. However, under the cover of night, his criminal drug trafficking empire continued to operate without interruption.
Hafeez's illegal operations spanned the globe, as he trafficked heroin, methamphetamine, and hashish from his bases in Pakistan and India to markets worldwide. But it wasn't just his vast drug empire that made him stand out. Hafeez also played a dangerous cat-and-mouse game—posing as an informant for law enforcement agencies in the UK and the Middle East, further blurring the lines between ally and criminal.
At the polo club, Hafeez was rubbing shoulders with British royalty, and building relationships with some of the richest and most powerful people. By day, he was acting like a businessman with deep networks from the UK to the Middle East and Pakistan. On June 6, 2025, Hafeez was sentenced to 16 years in a New York prison after being convicted of drug trafficking charges. This officially marked the end of a legal saga that had spanned years, and which had revealed how Hafeez—who once rubbed elbows with London's elite billionaires—had been secretly operating one of the biggest and perhaps most secretive drug empires in the world. His prison term, which is set to end in 2033, signals the end of a criminal enterprise that relied on deception, money, and unrestrained ambition.
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