Zahir Qadir, the former First Deputy Speaker of Afghanistan’s House of Representatives, has been extradited from Kenya to the United States on charges of drug trafficking and illegal arms offenses, and has been transferred to New York to stand trial.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Qadir was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 15, 2025, by Kenyan police following a meeting with agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to U.S. authorities, Qadir allegedly conspired to traffic hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine into the United States. He is also accused of agreeing to procure heavy weapons including rocket launchers, machine guns, sniper rifles, and explosives to facilitate and secure the drug trafficking operations.
The Department of Justice stated that in November 2024, Qadir established contact with an individual whom he believed to be a member of an international drug trafficking network. That individual was, in fact, a confidential DEA source. Authorities further allege that on December 10, 2024, Qadir delivered a two-kilogram sample of methamphetamine in Johannesburg in exchange for US$14,000.
Todd Blanche, the Acting U.S. Attorney General, said that Qadir allegedly operated a criminal enterprise behind his political profile, overseeing a network involved in the trafficking of dangerous narcotics and illegal weapons. Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, likewise described him as an international drug and arms trafficker.
Qadir, who was elected First Deputy Speaker of Afghanistan’s House of Representatives in 2012 and previously served as commander of the Eighth Border Forces Battalion in Takhar Province, is currently facing prosecution in the United States on charges of conspiracy to traffic narcotics and unlawful firearms-related offenses.
Terrance Cole, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), stated that if convicted on the charges, Qadir faces a sentence ranging from a mandatory minimum of 30 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
