United States v. Mohammad Waheedullah Khan Muhammad Hanif Abdul Karim Abdul Rasheed

We must determine whether the United States has jurisdiction over foreign nationals smuggling hashish on a foreign ship seized by the Coast Guard in international waters.

I

In May and June 1991, undercover agents of the United States Customs Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation arranged to help a ship, the LUCKY STAR, smuggle its 70 ton load of hashish. The LUCKY STAR was registered in St. Vincent, a sovereign island nation in the British West Indies, and carried a crew from Pakistan. The agents met with the Americans in charge of the drug deal in Hawaii, San Francisco, and New York to plan the operation. They agreed to ship the drugs into Eastern Canada, for distribution in New York, Montreal, and Toronto. The back-up plan provided for shipment to California or Alaska.

On July 1,1991, a Coast Guard detachment aboard two Navy ships intercepted the LUCKY STAR in international waters. Upon request, the LUCKY STAR’S master gave the Coast Guard permission to board. The Coast Guard and a contingent of Navy personnel under Coast Guard command boarded and searched the ship, eventually finding the hashish. The Coast Guard then sought consent from St. Vincent through…