Abdul Zahir Qadeer, the former first deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s lower house of parliament, has been extradited to the United States to face federal charges accusing him of conspiring to traffic hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine, along with military-grade weapons, the US Justice Department announced Friday.
Qadeer, 52, was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 15, 2025, and extradited to New York on Thursday. He is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday, prosecutors accuse Qadeer of negotiating the sale of large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine destined for the United States, as well as heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, pistols and grenades.
US authorities said Qadeer believed he was dealing with members of an international drug trafficking organization. The buyers were, in fact, confidential informants working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA.
Prosecutors allege that in December 2024, Qadeer sold a two-kilogram test shipment of methamphetamine in Johannesburg, South Africa, for about $14,000 as part of the undercover operation.
They further allege that he later negotiated the sale of hundreds of kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine, along with an arsenal of military-grade weapons that he believed would be used to protect drug trafficking operations from US law enforcement.
“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,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Jay Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the case involved “massive amounts of poison and weaponry,” describing the alleged plot as posing a serious threat to the United States.
DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said Qadeer had been entrusted with securing Afghanistan’s borders during his military career but instead allegedly used his position to facilitate international drug and weapons trafficking.
According to the Justice Department, Qadeer served as a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force, commanding the Eighth Border Battalion in Takhar Province. He later entered politics and was elected first deputy speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of Afghanistan’s National Assembly, in 2012.
The Afghan parliament ceased functioning after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
The complaint alleges that Qadeer remained involved in international narcotics and weapons trafficking after leaving public office. In April 2025, prosecutors say, he traveled to Nairobi believing he would finalize an agreement with members of the trafficking organization. Instead, he met with undercover DEA sources and was arrested by Kenyan authorities immediately after the meeting.
Qadeer faces charges of conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States and firearms offenses involving machine guns and destructive devices. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison on the narcotics conspiracy charge, while the firearms charges carry mandatory minimum penalties of up to 30 years and maximum sentences of life imprisonment.
The investigation was led by the DEA’s Special Operations Division, with assistance from the FBI, Kenyan authorities and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
The Justice Department emphasized that the charges are allegations, and that Qadeer is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Qadeer’s family has said that his arrest has a political motive and is unjust.
