A top Afghan army general-cum-politician, Abdul Zahir Qadeer, also known as “Haji Abdul Zahir,” has been extradited to face charges of conspiring to traffic hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine and firearms.

Mr Qadeer, a former general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and First Deputy Speaker of Afghanistan’s National Assembly’s House of the People, was captured in Kenya last year and extradited to the U.S. on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Justice, in a statement on Friday, said Mr Qadeer is expected to appear in a federal court in Manhattan for trial following his extradition from Kenya to the U.S.

The U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “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.”

He added, “The Drug Enforcement Administration led an investigation that ended Qadeer’s audacious criminal activity, and now he will face justice in the United States.”

Investigations by U.S. authorities showed that Mr Qadeer, as a former general in Afghanistan’s Border Force, exploited his position to facilitate drug and weapons trafficking.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, said, “Abdul Zahir Qadeer, a former high-ranking Afghan government official, allegedly also held a dual role as a large-scale international narcotics and military-grade weapons trafficker.”

Citing U.S. authorities’ investigations, Mr Clayton said, “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. Unbeknownst to Qadeer, that buyer was working with the DEA.”

He added, “The scale of potential devastation Qadeer was attempting to bring to the U.S. is terrifying. This brazen effort underscores the need for the commitment and expertise of our career prosecutors and DEA partners.”

Mr Qadeer is a former member of Afghanistan’s National Assembly, which functioned as the legislature of Afghanistan until the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021.

He previously served as a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force, a paramilitary police organisation responsible for securing Afghanistan’s borders, commanding its Eighth Border Battalion in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. 

He also served as the First Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly’s House of the People.