Former Afghan politician Qadir charged in US with drug and weapons conspiracy
In Johannesburg, South Africa, in December 2024, a confidential informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received two kilograms of methamphetamine that, according to the US investigation, were a sample from former Afghan politician Abdul Zahir Qadir. Qadir was arrested in Nairobi in April 2025 and extradited to the United States in July 2026, where he is charged with conspiracy to traffic drugs and weapons, Daily Maverick reports.
Qadir, also known as Haji Abdul Zahir, was previously a general in Afghanistan's Border Forces and a member of the country's National Assembly. While in Kenya, he denied the US charges and said the case was politically motivated.
Transfer of methamphetamine in Johannesburg
According to a complaint by DEA Special Agent Nicholas DiFrancesco, the investigation began in November 2024. Confidential source CS-1, in encrypted calls and messages, posed as a representative of a group allegedly operating in Africa and looking for a supplier of heroin and methamphetamine for sale in the United States.
According to the US investigation, Qadir said he could arrange drug deliveries to any part of the world. Case materials also cite him as saying that, given money and a strong team, the Taliban would cooperate with him. Investigators claim that he spoke about the possibility of involving Afghan officials linked to drug trafficking in heroin supplies.
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Around November 23, 2024, Qadir allegedly agreed to hand over two kilograms of methamphetamine in Africa. According to the complaint, on December 7 he agreed on payment of $14,000 for the sample, and two days later informant CS-2 arranged for the money to be transferred through the informal hawala system to Qadir's nephew in Afghanistan.
On December 10, CS-2 received a message via an encrypted messenger from a person who identified themselves as Lucky. The person arranged a meeting near a restaurant in Johannesburg and later led the informant to a parking lot. There, Lucky opened the rear door of a vehicle, from which CS-2 took a black bag containing two plastic containers of methamphetamine. According to the DEA, the informant then handed the bag over to South African law enforcement as evidence.
Suspicions over weapons supplies
In January, CS-1 and Qadir also discussed weapons supplies, according to investigators. The informant asked about machine guns, rifles and other types of weaponry, explaining that they were allegedly needed to protect drug shipments on vessels.
The DEA complaint states that Qadir said rifles could only be supplied in large batches of 200 to 300 units. He also allegedly mentioned Kalashnikov assault rifles, PK machine guns, RPG grenade launchers and DShK heavy machine guns. US authorities described Qadir as a major international drug and arms trafficker, but his guilt in the case has yet to be established by a court.
