New York Times Says A Small-Time Drug Smuggler In Afghanistan Was The Person Used By Russia To Handed Out $100,000 Bounty Contracts To Kill U.S. Soldiers

A screencap from the “Omari Army 5" propaganda video appears to show a Taliban fighter wielding an FN SCAR rifle. Screenshot via Al Emarah Studio

New York Times: Afghan Contractor Handed Out Russian Cash to Kill Americans, Officials Say

A small-time businessman became a key middleman for bounties on coalition troops in Afghanistan, U.S. intelligence reports say. Friends saw him grow rich, but didn’t know how.

KABUL, Afghanistan — He was a lowly drug smuggler, neighbors and relatives say, then ventured into contracting, seeking a slice of the billions of dollars the U.S.-led coalition was funneling into construction projects in Afghanistan.

But he really began to show off his wealth in recent years, after establishing a base in Russia, though how he earned those riches remained mysterious. On his regular trips home to northern Afghanistan, he drove the latest model cars, protected by bodyguards, and his house was recently upgraded to a four-story villa.

Now Rahmatullah Azizi stands as a central piece of a puzzle rocking Washington, named in American intelligence reports and confirmed by Afghan officials as a key middleman who for years handed out money from a Russian military intelligence unit to reward Taliban-linked fighters for targeting American troops in Afghanistan, according to American and Afghan officials.

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WNU Editor: The New York Times says that the people they interviewed did not understand why this Afghan contractor with supposed links to Russia was so rich. It is not hard to understand. He was a drug dealer. His trips to Russia are not a surprise either. There are over a million heroin addicts in Russia, and it is a huge health crisis in that country. If this drug smuggler was going to Russia, it was probably to facilitate his smuggling operation and to make sure that he gets paid. And this is nothing new. I have lost count over the years on how many Chechens, Afghans, Tajiks, etc., have been arrested in Russia for drug smuggling. Which leads me to the next point. I find it very hard to believe that Russian military intelligence, or anyone else in a responsible position in the Russian government, would work with someone who is responsible for destroying countless lives in Russia because of narcotics.What they would do is throw this lowly drug smuggler into a small cell for the rest of his life, not pay him off with massive amounts of money.

More News On The New York Times Saying A Small-Time Drug Smuggler In Afghanistan Was The Person Used By Russia To Handed Out $100,000 Bounty Contracts To Kill U.S. Soldiers

Afghan contractor delivered Russian cash to the Taliban to target US soldiers: NYT -- The Hill
The bounty price against US troops in Afghanistan reached as high as $100,000, report says -- Business Insider
Russia's Afghan Bagman Is Living Large -- Esquire
US Media Date 'Russian Bounties' 5 Years Back, Name 'Key Middleman' in 'Money Transfers' -- Sputnik