Overview
- Abdul Zahir Qadeer was extradited from Kenya and appeared in Manhattan federal court on Friday, where a judge ordered him detained pending trial on narcotics and weapons conspiracy charges.
- Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York say the complaint is based on a DEA undercover probe that included a confidential source and a test sale of methamphetamine delivered in South Africa.
- Court filings allege Qadeer negotiated from November 2024 to sell hundreds of kilograms of heroin and meth and to supply hundreds of assault rifles, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
- U.S. charges include one count of conspiracy to import narcotics and counts tied to possession and use of machine guns and destructive devices, with statutory mandatory minimums prosecutors say total at least 40 years and maximum exposure up to life in prison.
- The case highlights coordinated international work by the DEA, Kenyan authorities and U.S. Justice Department teams and raises questions about how a former Afghan Border Force general and deputy parliamentary speaker allegedly used his networks to run a trafficking operation.