Ayman Saied Joumaa is a

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n/ Lebanese national and alleged drug kingpin. The

US Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and th ...

alleges that his organization launders money and traffics illicit drugs in the Americas, Middle East, Europe, and Africa, and that he has ties to

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

and the

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscri ...

cartel. * * * On January 26, 2011, the US Treasury Department's

Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy ob ...

(OFAC) listed him as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker under the

Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark federal legislation in the United States intended to address international narcotics trafficking by imposing United States sanctions on foreign persons a ...

. On November 23, 2011, a

federal grand jury Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought. T ...

indicted Joumaa for distributing tens of thousands of kilograms of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

from Colombia through Central America to Los Zetas in Mexico and for laundering millions of dollars' worth of drug money from Mexico, Europe, and West Africa to Colombia and Venezuela.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joumaa, Ayman Living people Colombian drug traffickers People convicted of money laundering Lebanese criminals Year of birth missing (living people)