Afghan heroin trafficker to be sentenced in DC
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Afghan man linked to the Taliban who authorities say was one of the largest heroin traffickers in the world will be sentenced in a court in Washington.
Haji Bagcho was convicted by a federal jury in March and is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday. The Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration say he manufactured drugs in secret laboratories along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan.
According to the Justice Department, he sent heroin to more than 20 countries, including the United States, and proceeds from his heroin trafficking were then used to support high-level members of the Taliban and their insurgency in Afghanistan.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bagcho was captured and brought to the United States in June 2009. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison.