Khamraj Lall, the Guyanese pilot, who was found guilty of smuggling cocaine into the United States from Guyana on his private jet and laundering the money, was on Friday sentenced today to 13 years in prison for trafficking hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into New Jersey and New York and then laundering over $10.2 million in cash drug proceeds.

According to a release from the US Attorney Office, Khamraj Lall, 52, of Ringwood, New Jersey, was found guilty previously by a federal jury in Trenton of all eight counts of a superseding indictment, including counts charging him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, money laundering, structuring monetary instruments, and conspiracy to commit money laundering and structuring. U.S.

District Judge Anne E. Thompson imposed the sentence today, Friday, in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and the evidence at trial from April 2011 through November 2014, Lall, a private pilot, smuggled hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Guyana to New Jersey and New York on his privately owned jet aircraft and then laundered the proceeds.

Lall, who owed a private jet charter business called Exec Jet Club based in Gainesville, Florida, used the proceeds of his cocaine empire to purchase jet planes, houses, and cars. He also paid over $2 million in cash stuffed into suitcases to a Florida contractor to build an airplane hangar in Guyana.

Over a 3-½ year period, Lall also made (or had others make) 1,287 cash deposits totaling approximately $7.5 million into more than 20 different bank accounts in New Jersey and New York, much of it in $20 bills. In order to avoid detection and circumvent bank reporting laws, all 1,287 deposits were for amounts less than $10,000.

In November 2014, Lall was flying one of his jets from the U.S. to Guyana and stopped in Puerto Rico to refuel. An outbound search of the plane uncovered $470,000 in cash stuffed into a suitcase hidden in the tail of the plane, and another $150,000 in cash hidden under a seat.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Lall to five years of supervised release. The Court previously ordered Lall to forfeit his interest in two jet airplanes, two airplane hangars, multiple properties, a Lexus SUV, among other property traceable to his crimes. The Court also entered a money judgment against Lall for $9.3 million.

Lall was said to have a cozy relationship with the People’s Progessive Party administration during that party’s term in office. He reportedly transported Former President Donald Ramotar on one occasion.

The authorities have taken over control of the private hangar at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.