Juma Khan, an ethnic Baluch from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Nimroz Nimruz or Nimroz (Dari: ; Balochi: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also border ...

Province, is a drug lord with links to the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

. Juma Khan was an illiterate provincial drug smuggler from southwestern Afghanistan in the 1990s. He suddenly rose to national prominence after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan. He was briefly detained by American forces after the 2001 fall of the Taliban and released, even though American officials knew that he was involved in narcotics trafficking. After being released, he inexplicably seized control of the town of

Bahramcha Bahrāmcha (Pashto/ prs, بھرامچه; Balochi prs, بھرام چاه) is the center of Dishu District in the southern part of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. History Bahramcha is a town in Dishu District, Helmand Province, near the border ...

in the Chagai Hills on the Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan border in late 2001 and turned it into a hub of drug smuggling and gun running into Pakistan and Iran. Later Juma Khan allegedly went on to run the Taliban's opium and heroin distribution network, selling worldwide and using the profits to equip

forces militarily. His organization was designated as a

Narcotics Kingpin The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark federal legislation in the United States intended to address international narcotics trafficking by imposing United States sanctions on foreign persons a ...

under the SDN by the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy ob ...

, with addresses in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2008, he was detained for unknown reasons in Indonesia and transported to New York. He was quietly released on April 20, 2018 without any pending charges or a trial. No official explanation was provided.

References

External links

"Fierce factional fighting reported in northwestern Afghanistan"
''Deutsche Presse-Agentur'' March 26, 2003. ''Lexis-Nexis'' September 10, 2003
"Afghan government probes killings in northwest"
''Agence France Presse'' May 1, 2003. ''Lexis Nexis'' September 10, 2003

April 6, 2003. ''The News'' September 10, 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Juma Baloch people Taliban members Living people Afghan drug traffickers Year of birth missing (living people) Deobandis Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act

See also

References

External links