WASHINGTON: A former member of Afghanistan’s parliament has been extradited from Kenya to the United States to face charges of conspiring to traffic narcotics and firearms, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday.
US authorities said Abdul Zahir Qadeer, who was arrested in Nairobi in April last year, was involved in a large-scale international drug and weapons trafficking network.
According to the Justice Department, Qadeer served as deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s National Assembly before the Taliban returned to power in 2021. He also previously held the rank of general in the Afghan Border Force.
International Trafficking Network
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche alleged that Qadeer used his political position as a cover while leading a criminal enterprise involved in trafficking illicit drugs and heavy weapons.
“While purporting to be a political leader of Afghanistan, Abdul Zahir Qadeer was allegedly leading a criminal enterprise dealing in dangerous and addictive narcotics and heavy weapons,” Blanche said.
According to the criminal complaint, Qadeer discussed plans to smuggle hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine into the United States with an individual who was, in fact, a confidential source working for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Prosecutors also allege that he negotiated the sale of hundreds of heavy machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, pistols and grenades.
Undercover DEA Operation
US Attorney Jay Clayton said Qadeer allegedly arranged a two-kilogram test shipment of narcotics, which was delivered in South Africa to a buyer who was secretly cooperating with the DEA.
“In an attempt to traffic massive amounts of poison and weaponry… Qadeer allegedly sold a two-kilogram test shipment to a buyer, which was delivered in South Africa,” Clayton said.
“Unbeknownst to Qadeer, that buyer was working with the DEA,” he added.
If convicted of conspiracy to import narcotics and firearms into the United States, Qadeer could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
