Inside the South African drug deal that exposed an alleged Afghan trafficker and his ‘Taliban ties’

A confidential US Drug Enforcement Administration source bought a methamphetamine sample in a Johannesburg parking lot in December 2024, evidence now central to a federal case against former Afghan politician Abdul Zahir Qadeer. Qadeer, once a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force, was arrested in Kenya in April 2025 and extradited to the United States, where he faces charges of conspiring to traffic narcotics and heavy weapons internationally. Journalist Caryn Dolley traces South Africa's role in the case, drawing on a DEA agent's criminal complaint.