⏱ 2 min read
A former Afghan general and First Deputy Speaker of Afghanistan’s National Assembly’s House of the People, Abdul Zahir Qadeer, has been extradited to the US to face charges of conspiring to traffic hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine and providing an arsenal of military-grade weaponry. The alleged crimes occurred over an unspecified period, with Qadeer’s arrest taking place in Nairobi, Kenya on April 15, 2025, and his extradition to the US on July 10, 2026. The motivations behind Qadeer’s alleged actions are not explicitly stated, but the scale of the operation suggests a large-scale and sophisticated criminal enterprise.
Qadeer, also known as ‘Haji Abdul Zahir’, allegedly sold a two-kilogram test shipment to a buyer in South Africa, unaware that the buyer was working with the DEA. This operation led to the unsealing of a Complaint charging Qadeer with conspiring to import heroin and methamphetamine and related firearms offenses.
US Attorney Jay Clayton stated that Qadeer’s alleged actions ‘underscore the need for the commitment and expertise of our career prosecutors and DEA partners’. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche added that ‘the world is safer now that Abdul Zahir Qadeer is facing justice in the United States’.
Qadeer was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Ricardo and ordered detained pending trial. The case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat international narcotics and weapons trafficking.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Drug Trafficking
- Defendant: Methamphetamine
- Location: NY
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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