Member of Afghan Taliban Convicted in U.S. Court on Narco-Terrorism and Drug Charges

Member of Afghan Taliban Convicted in U.S. Court on Narco-Terrorism and Drug
Charges

WASHINGTON, May 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A member of an Afghan
Taliban cell was convicted today by a jury in U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia on charges of narcotics distribution and narco-terrorism,
Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Alice S. Fisher
announced. The conviction represents the first time a defendant has been
convicted in U.S. federal court of narco-terrorism since the statute was
enacted in March 2006.
Khan Mohammed, from the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, was
investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for weapons and
narcotics offenses. The investigation revealed that Mohammed was part of a
Taliban plan to obtain rockets to attack U.S. military and Afghan civilian
personnel at Jalalabad Airfield in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. A cooperating
witness working with the DEA met with Mohammed on several occasions to plan
the rocket attack. Evidence presented at trial established that Mohammed had
previously engaged in similar rocket attacks against other Afghan targets.
During the investigation, Mohammed also sold opium and heroin that he knew was
intended for importation into the United States.
"The Department of Justice will continue to use every available legal tool
to bring to justice those who help fund terrorist activities by trafficking in
illegal drugs," said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher. "I would
like to thank the DEA, our law enforcement partners in Afghanistan and the
federal prosecutors for their hard work on this case."
"As an enemy of the United States, Khan Mohammed intended to ship heroin
to the United States and use profits from that trade to assist the Taliban,"
said DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. "A dangerous double
threat, Kahn Mohammed purchased rockets to attack American and coalition
soldiers who were risking their lives to stabilize Afghanistan. The
conviction of Kahn Mohammed puts an end to this source of poison and
violence."
A grand jury first returned an indictment against Mohammed on Dec. 13,
2006, charging him with distributing opium and heroin, knowing that it would
be imported into the United States. A superseding indictment returned on Jan.
23, 2008, also charged Mohammed with engaging in drug trafficking knowing or
intending to provide something of pecuniary value to a terrorist or terrorist
organization. Mohammed was brought to the United States on Nov. 5, 2007.
Mohammed faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life
in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled before the Honorable Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly on Oct. 10, 2008.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief of Litigation Julius Rothstein,
Trial Attorney Matthew Stiglitz and paralegal Arianne Tice of the Criminal
Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section. The investigation was led by
the DEA's Kabul Country Office and DEA's FAST team in Afghanistan with support
from DEA's Special Operations Division in the United States and in close
cooperation with Afghan law enforcement.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

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