Juma Khan is an ethnic Baloch drug lord from Afghanistan's southern Nimruz Province who has links with the Taliban.[1]
| Juma Khan جمعه خان | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nimruz Province, Afghanistan |
| Arrested | USA DEA |
| Citizenship | Afghanistan |
| Charge(s) | Charges, if any, were never made public |
| Status | Khan disappeared, once in US custody |
Juma Khan was an illiterate provincial Baloch drug smuggler from Nimruz Province in southwestern Afghanistan in the 1990s. He suddenly rose to national prominence after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan. He was briefly detained by American forces after the 2001 fall of the Taliban and released, even though American officials knew that he was involved in narcotics trafficking.[2] After being released, he inexplicably seized control of the town of Bahramcha in the Chagai Hills on the Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan border in late 2001 and turned it into a hub of drug smuggling and gun running into Pakistan and Iran. Later Juma Khan allegedly went on to run the Taliban's opium and heroin distribution network, selling worldwide and using the profits to equip Taliban forces militarily. Despite being an ethnic Baloch he maintained close contact with the largely Pashtun Taliban.[3]
His organization was designated as a Narcotics Kingpin under the SDN by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, with addresses in Pakistan and Afghanistan.[4]
In 2008, he was detained for unknown reasons in Indonesia and transported to New York. He was quietly released on April 20, 2018, without any pending charges or a trial.[5][6] No official explanation was provided.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Walsh, Declan (August 16, 2008). "Flower power". The Guardian.
- ^ Risen, James (December 11, 2010). "Propping Up a Drug Lord, Then Arresting Him". The New York Times. p. A1.
Now, plea negotiations are quietly under way. A plea bargain might keep many of the details of his relationship to the United States out of the public record.
- ^ McGirk, Tim (August 2, 2004). "Terrorism's Harvest". Time.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2005.
- ^ "HAJI JUMA KHAN ORGANIZATION". sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ^ "Inmate Locator".
- ^ Dwyer, Jhonny. "The U.S. Quietly Released Afghanistan's "Biggest Drug Kingpin" From Prison. Did He Cut a Deal?". The Intercept.
External links
edit- "Fierce factional fighting reported in northwestern Afghanistan" Deutsche Presse-Agentur March 26, 2003. Lexis-Nexis September 10, 2003
- "Afghan government probes killings in northwest" Agence France Presse May 1, 2003. Lexis Nexis September 10, 2003
- "Ex-Taliban governor held in Afghanistan" April 6, 2003. The News September 10, 2003