former Afghan general faces life in prison if convicted on drug charges
Abdul Zahir Qadeer, 52, of Afghanistan, was extradited to the United States on Friday to face federal charges that he conspired to import heroin and methamphetamine, along with related firearms offenses, authorities said. He appeared in Manhattan federal court and was ordered detained until trial, according to a release from federal prosecutors.
Qadeer was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 15 before his transfer to the U.S., prosecutors said. He previously served as a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and as first deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s House of the People.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described Qadeer as a large-scale international narcotics and military-grade weapons trafficker. “In an attempt to traffic massive amounts of poison and weaponry — including heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers — Qadeer allegedly sold a two-kilogram test shipment to a buyer, which was delivered in South Africa,” Clayton said in a release.
It was unclear who is representing Qadeer on the U.S. charges. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars, authorities said.