He is called the founder of the Afghan heroin trade.
Haji Ayub Afridi or Ayub Afridi is a Pakistani drug lord turned politician presently living in Pakistan. He is called the founder of the Afghan heroin trade. After the September 11 attacks he was seen as an ally to the US attacks against the Taliban. He has also been approached by United States as a part of their efforts to exert control over Afghanistan...
Involvement in the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Afridi was a key player in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. In close collaboration with the CIA, he was able to supplement huge amounts of money for the Mujahideen in Afghanistan through his growing of poppies to supply the heroin trade.Using his smuggling network to move weapons supplied by the CIA to the mujahidin rebels fighting inside Afghanistan. Afridi used the same channels to move Afghan opium to secret laboratories in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Afridi was elected as a Member of National Assembly, Pakistan, in 1990. He contested the election as a free candidate from Khyber Agency.