Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Bashir Noorzai" in English language version.
Hajji Bashir Noorzai, a senior official of Taliban was freed from US custody in the Guantanamo Bay, a source close to Taliban said Tuesday.
U.S. President George W. Bush in June identified Noorzai as one of the world's most-wanted drug traffickers under the so-called Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. That law is designed to identify drug traffickers who pose threats to U.S. security, foreign policy, or the economy.
The agency also identified a high-value Afghan target, Haji Bashir Noorzai, an opium trafficker with close ties to the Taliban's leader, Mullah Omar.
Alternately known as the "Pablo Escobar of the Middle East" and a U.S. allied freedom fighter, federal agents arrested Noorzai on heroin trafficking charges in 2005.
Mr. Noorzai flew to New York in April 2005 and was taken to an Embassy Suites hotel, where he was questioned for 13 days before being arrested, his lawyer said.
The defense has argued in court papers that the government relied on private contractors who bribed foreign officials to gain access to Mr. Noorzai, and then promised Mr. Noorzai that he would not be arrested if he agreed to meet with American officials and provide information about terrorism financing.
In a 2006 confidential report to the drug agency reviewed by The New York Times, an Afghan informer stated that Mr. Juma Khan was working with Ahmed Wali Karzai, the political boss of southern Afghanistan, to take control of the drug trafficking operations left behind by Mr. Noorzai. Some current and former American counternarcotics officials say they believe that Mr. Karzai provided security and protection for Mr. Juma Khan's operations.
For a week and a half in April 2005, one of the favorite warlords of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar was sitting in a room at the Embassy Suites Hotel in lower Manhattan, not far from where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood.
For a week and a half in April 2005, one of the favorite warlords of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar was sitting in a room at the Embassy Suites Hotel in lower Manhattan, not far from where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood.
U.S. President George W. Bush in June identified Noorzai as one of the world's most-wanted drug traffickers under the so-called Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. That law is designed to identify drug traffickers who pose threats to U.S. security, foreign policy, or the economy.
