By Volkhonsky Boris (Boris Volkhonsky): On Tuesday, as reported by the Associated Press, an Afghan national with links to the Taliban was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin in the United States and use the proceeds to fund the Taliban. Haji Bagcho, in his late 60s, is regarded by the authorities as one of the most notorious heroin traffickers in the world. According to the statement from the Justice Department he had been making heroin in secret laboratories along Afghanistan's borderwith Pakistan for years. The heroin was then sent to 20 countries, and the proceeds were used to support the former Taliban governor of Nangarhar Province and two Taliban commanders responsible for insurgent activity in eastern Afghanistan.In 2006 alone, Bagcho allegedly made heroin transactions of more than 123,000 kilograms and worth more than $250 million. That accounted for about 20 percent of the total amount of heroin produced in the world that year. Tags: US-Afghan relations, Commentary, Politics, World, Afghan drug threat, Taliban, Читать , далее Source: Voice of Russia.
