The Hasht-e Subh Daily has obtained information indicating that a close relative of Haji Bashir Noorzai, known as the godfather of Afghanistan’s drug trade, is extorting and demanding protection money from wealthy individuals and businessmen. According to sources, he is even involved in the kidnapping of businessmen’s relatives, and in one case he took a large sum of money from a person in Kabul in exchange for the release of that person’s relatives. A number of traders say he demands a share of their business and personal investments and takes money from them. According to sources, anyone who refuses to pay faces a death threat. The sources who spoke to the Hasht-e Subh Daily confirm that the Taliban’s Kabul Security Command and the group’s intelligence agency have admitted they are unable to stop this individual’s activities, telling victims: “You have to work it out yourselves, because he is the nephew of Haji Bashir Noorzai.”
The findings of this report show that this person introduces himself as “Safir Almas” (Ambassador of Diamonds), known as Almas Noorzai, and has an Instagram page under the same name. On this page, he posts clips and stories of his convoy of vehicles, his outings and revelry, and his weapons. In some of these videos, Persian and Pashto songs can be heard, and he also posts a photo of Haji Bashir Noorzai in his stories alongside this music, even though the Taliban have declared listening to music forbidden.
A credible source says Safir Almas is the son of Haji Hakim, the brother of Haji Bashir Noorzai, who is known as the Pablo Escobar of Afghanistan. According to sources, after the death of Haji Hakim, the guardianship of this son was entrusted to Haji Bashir Noorzai. This source says that after Haji Bashir was detained by the United States, his eldest son took over the guardianship of Safir Almas.
Sources say Safir Almas contacts businessmen and wealthy individuals, accompanied by dozens of bodyguards and several armored vehicles with tinted windows, and goes to see them in person to demand a share. According to sources, he sets deadlines for businessmen to pay him the money he has demanded, and otherwise they must expect to die.
These investors confirm that they have approached Taliban security bodies, including the group’s Kabul Security Command and Taliban intelligence, but were told that nothing could be done.
Sources say he tells investors directly that he holds a stake and is a partner in a given project. But when he is asked to pay the cost of his share, he warns: “If you value your life, do not ask me for a share, and just pay.”
Some businessmen say that whenever they approach Taliban security bodies, those bodies inform Safir Almas of their visit and complaint. According to them, they then receive another warning from Safir Almas that they must not pursue their complaints any further.
One of the businessmen says: “Every time he comes, 40 to 45 armed men and several vehicles are with him. I swear to God, our hands and feet tremble from fear. He does not extort only me; he extorts everyone. No one even dares to complain about him, because they report to him everywhere.”
A source in Kandahar says of Safir Almas: “He is a very dissolute and thuggish person. He is the son of Bashir Noorzai’s brother, and his cousin is also a highway robber. They also force girls and boys into sexual relations.”
The source adds: “These young men spend most of their time in Nimroz on outings and recreation. Bashir Noorzai has bought bulletproof vehicles for them. Whenever Bashir Noorzai travels to remote areas, these young men accompany him in the same convoy. They spend the rest of their time on banditry.”
Another source says: “Complaints about these young men have also reached Bashir Noorzai. Noorzai has confiscated their weapons several times, but has returned them again. These individuals also carry out other activities within the Taliban regime. Whenever Taliban intelligence or the group’s Kabul command detains people on various charges, these individuals then go to the homes of the detainees’ families and tell them that, in return for a specific sum of money, they will free their family member from Taliban custody. They have also pushed several government employees into taking bribes.”
This source says: “Mullah Akhundzada’s group strongly supports these individuals. They have been detained and jailed several times by the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior (MoI), but Bashir Noorzai has released them every time.”
Meanwhile, the findings of this report show that this mafia gang affiliated with Haji Bashir Noorzai is also involved in the rise in fuel prices in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. According to sources, no one can complain about this, because Haji Bashir Noorzai has taken control of the entire fuel trade.
In one case, a resident of Helmand had complained about the rise in fuel prices, but he was forced to delete his protest post from Facebook and apologize for his remarks.
Sources say Almas Noorzai manages a large mafia group in Afghanistan, particularly in the southern region, and that this group is involved in smuggling opium and cocaine to Iran and Pakistan.
The findings of the report show that on October 15, 2023, a clash broke out among Taliban fighters over a shipment of opium in Bahramcha district of Helmand province, in which 11 people were killed and four others were wounded. This opium shipment belonged to Haji Bashir Noorzai, and Safir Almas was in charge of managing it.
According to sources, after Taliban fighters stopped this opium shipment, Safir Almas contacted Haji Bashir Noorzai, who then told Haji Abdul Ahad, a Taliban member, that the shipment belonged to him. However, the Taliban fighters did not comply with Abdul Ahad’s order, and a clash broke out among them.
The Hasht-e Subh Daily has also reviewed the videos this person posts on his Instagram page. These videos show that he has several vehicles and bodyguards, and that he drives recklessly, ignoring traffic rules, across the desert plains of Nimroz, among the dunes. He also takes photos with weapons and posts the images on social media.
The videos he has published in his Instagram stories show him touring the sandy desert plains of Nimroz in a convoy of several vehicles, where he drives without observing traffic rules. At the same time, he has posted a photo of Haji Bashir in his story and written: “Beloved elder, Haji Sahib Bashir, my uncle.” He has also published a video of himself and his bodyguards wearing Taliban clothing, with a Pashto-language song laid over it.
In 2015, the Hasht-e Subh Daily published an investigative report titled “Exposing the Names of Major Drug Smugglers,” according to which Haji Bashir Noorzai was one of these individuals. At that time, the Hasht-e Subh Daily had found, on the basis of documents, that the name of this Taliban official was on the list of the largest drug smugglers in the region and the world. Haji Bashir Noorzai is also considered one of the founders of the Taliban.
Haji Bashir Noorzai, known as the “Pablo Escobar of the Middle East,” was a financial backer of the first Taliban regime. He is regarded as a prominent figure in the formation and organization of the Taliban and in the gathering of the group’s fighters.
Earlier, Foreign Policy magazine had reported that Bashir Noorzai, one of the major drug smugglers, began trading with China with the support of Hibatullah Akhundzada after his release from Guantanamo prison. The magazine wrote that Noorzai had obtained at least two major contracts in the mining and petrochemical sectors, which, according to the magazine, bring no benefit to the citizens of Afghanistan.
Foreign Policy has referred to Bashir Noorzai as the “drug lord.” According to this report, “Noorzai’s heroin empire” played a role in financing the Taliban’s long war in Afghanistan.
It is worth noting that Noorzai was released in September 2022 under a deal made by the Biden administration for the release of Mark Frerichs, a U.S. Navy veteran who was held captive by the Taliban. He is now widely active in gold mining in Badakhshan and Takhar provinces and heads dozens of companies.
One note: the original says some American media outlets spelled his name “Bashir” as a variant. Since “Bashir” is now the standard spelling, that clause no longer makes sense, so I removed it from the 2015 paragraph. If you want it kept in some form, tell me the variant it should cite, and I’ll restore it.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
«پول بده یا منتظر مرگ باش»؛ روایتهای تکاندهنده از باجگیری برادرزاده بشر نورزی
The post “Pay Up or Prepare to Die”: Harrowing Accounts of Extortion by Haji Bashir Noorzai’s Nephew appeared first on Hasht-e Subh.