Jailed Afghan Drug Lord Khan Was U.S. Informant

Afghan drug lord Hajji Juma Khan was a longtime American informer who provided information about the Taliban, Afghan corruption and other drug traffickers, reports the New York Times.

Khan, who was arrested and transported to New York to face charges under a new American narco-terrorism law in 2008, provided information to Central Intelligence Agency officers and Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

A C.I.A. spokesman told the New York Times, "C.I.A. does not, as a rule, comment on matters pending before U.S. courts." The D.E.A. would not comment on Khan either.

Steven Zissou, Khan's New York lawyer, denies that Khan ever worked for the C.I.A. or supported the Taliban.

People who have knowledge of the case say Khan had been paid large amounts of cash by the U.S.

Currently, plea negotiations are quietly under way. A plea bargain might keep many of the details of his relationship to the United States out of the public record, reports the New York Times.