A United Kingdom national, Mittel Patel, has been sentenced to 186 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import approximately 400 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden after Patel previously pleaded guilty.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, “The illicit trafficking of narcotics and weapons poses an extreme threat to all New Yorkers and all Americans—and that threat is real. Mittel Patel conspired to sell an arsenal of military-grade weaponry to persons he believed to be working for a violent drug cartel so the purported cartel could protect a shipment of hundreds of kilograms of deadly narcotics into the United States. The contemplated weapons and drugs could kill thousands of innocent Americans. Thanks to the extraordinary investigative work of the DEA and our other law enforcement partners, Patel was apprehended before he could make good on his efforts to endanger American lives, and he is now incarcerated. Large-scale drug trafficking and the provision of weapons pose a broad and deadly threat to our safety, security, and freedom. Every American should know: the success of drug and weapons suppliers, and the cartels and other transnational criminal organizations they serve, comes at the cost of innocent American lives.”
According to court documents, Patel operated as a narcotics and weapons trafficker based in London. In 2021, an undercover agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began discussions with Patel about potential illegal transactions involving both drugs and military-grade firearms such as machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades.
The undercover agent informed Patel that there was an arrangement with individuals connected to the Sinaloa Cartel for purchasing around 400 kilograms of cocaine. This deal depended on supplying weapons to protect drug shipments crossing from Mexico into the United States.
In August 2022, Patel agreed with his co-conspirators to provide two sample firearms—a sniper rifle with a scope and parts for an AR-15 assault rifle—to the undercover agent in exchange for $10,000. These items were shipped in five separate packages within the United States.
Patel confirmed that if a larger order went forward, he could supply additional military-grade weapons including machine guns and RPGs.
On February 14, 2023, Patel met with the undercover agent in Athens, Greece. He was arrested by Greek authorities following this meeting and extradited to the United States on February 15, 2024.
In addition to his prison sentence, Patel received five years of supervised release.
Jay Clayton commended efforts by multiple agencies involved in investigating this case: “Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit. Mr. Clayton also thanked the DEA New York Field Office, DEA Athens, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and our law enforcement partners in Greece for their assistance.”
The prosecution was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan L. Bodansky and Jacob H. Gutwillig from the National Security and International Narcotics Unit.
