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MIAMI - An Israeli smuggler pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import more than 1 million ecstasy pills into the United States and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, US prosecutors said.
Zeev Rosenstein, known as "The Fat Man," was extradited by Israel to the United States in March 2006 to face charges that he headed a sophisticated drug-trafficking network spanning four continents.
Rosenstein pleaded guilty in US District Court to two charges, conspiracy to import and conspiracy to distribute ecstasy, an illegal party drug often used in nightclubs.
US District Judge William Dimitrouleas immediately sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
"Today's guilty plea and sentencing mark the demise of a major international drug-trafficking organisation whose operation spanned four continents and involved the shipment of well over 1 million ecstasy pills to the United States," US Attorney Alex Acosta said.
US authorities seized 700,000 pills in a single shipment in July 2001.
Rosenstein was arrested by Israeli authorities in November 2004 and was sent to Florida after Israel's Supreme Court rejected his appeal to block extradition in November 2005.
- REUTERS
