The US Department of Justice announced that it has sentenced Abdul Sattar Barakzai, 59, to 30 years in prison for “participating in narcoterrorism for the benefit of the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.”
Barakzai is also charged with importing heroin into New York and forging documents. He was found guilty after a two-week trial that ended in August.
According to court documents and evidence presented at the trial, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Barakzai in June 2012 for storing and transferring money to the Taliban.
The Treasury Department said that Barakzai “provided thousands of dollars to the Taliban to support their activities in Afghanistan and the war against coalition forces”.
In this announcement, the US Department of Justice referred to the Haqqani Network as "one of the violent Taliban groups" and accused Barakzai of financing the network.
According to a statement from the US Department of Justice, beginning in January 2018, Barakzai attempted to import large quantities of heroin into the United States; paid the Taliban to support his heroin trafficking; and attempted to provide financial support to the Haqqani Network, a violent Taliban faction. Barakzai participated in face-to-face meetings, recorded phone calls, and electronic communications with five individuals he believed were affiliated with an international drug trafficking organisation.
“Gathering Evidence”
In August 2018, Barakzai sold 10 kilograms of heroin to an undercover US Drug Enforcement Administration agent in Afghanistan. He told the agent at the time that the heroin would be brought into the United States for sale in New York. Barakzai also told the undercover US agent that the Taliban would be involved in the production and transportation of the heroin.
According to an official statement from the Ministry of Justice, Barakzai was arrested abroad and then transferred to the United States.
It is not known in which country the US detained him.
After his arrest, Barakzai ordered his family in Afghanistan to kidnap witnesses to his crimes and threaten them into silence.
According to a statement from the US Department of Justice, in recorded calls in February and March 2019, Barakzai had asked his brothers to kidnap the witness and threaten him with death to prevent him from providing information.
In addition to the 30 years in prison, Barakzai was sentenced to five years of supervised release. In addition, he lost the assets he earned from drug trafficking.
