Crime & Safety

South Setauket Man Busted in 7-Eleven Sting Denied Bail

Malik Yousaf was deemed a flight risk by a federal judge.

Bail was denied on Monday for a South Setauket man and 7-Eleven employee reportedly involved in a scheme which included smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States and subjecting them to long work hours for scant pay at the convenience stores.

Locations busted in the June sting included one in Port Jefferson Station, at the corner of Old Town Road and Route 347, as well as nine others on Long Island, as far east as Greenport and Sag Harbor.

While Farrukh Baig and his wife Bushra, owners of most of the franchises, remain in custody – as do the rest of the defendants – South Setauket resident Malik Yousaf was denied bail on Monday, a Department of Justice spokesman confirmed, as a federal judge believed him to be a flight risk.

Newsday reported on Monday that Yousaf, one of the nine defendants arrested in the sting, had put up a bail package valued around $2 million, including homes on Long Island in New Hampshire belonging to himself, family and friends. His lawyer said that the ruling would be appealed, according to Newsday.

According to officials, Baig, Yousaf, and several others brought over 50 immigrants into the country and in addition to having them work extra hours at the 7-Eleven shops they oversaw – reportedly up to 100-hour work weeks – the workers were forced to live in housing owned by Baig. Rent was then reportedly deducted from the pay earned by the workers, whose identities had been fabricated in order to falsify working documents.


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