Osama bin Laden tried to buy a massive amount of cocaine, spike it with poison and sell it in the United States hoping to kill thousands, according to reports. The plot failed when Colombian drug lords decided it would be bad for business if they got involved in the deal.
An investigation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration has examined how advanced the plot became when it was hatched a year after the 9/11 attacks.
Bin Laden personally met leaders of a Colombian drug cartel in 2002 to negotiate the purchase of tons of cocaine, saying that he was willing to spend tens of millions of dollars to finance the deal.
"They wanted to kill thousands of people - more than the World Trade Centre," said a source.
Although the drug lords would have reaped millions of dollars in profits by selling the cocaine to bin Laden, they knew that if his plan succeeded it might effectively destroy the market for their cocaine in America. They also feared retaliation from the US government once its citizens started to die from the drugs.
In 2002, the then DEA Director Asa Hutchinson said: "The DEA [has] received multi-source information that Osama bin Laden himself has been involved in the financing and facilitation of heroin-trafficking activities. It is important we recognise that when money goes from the pocket of an American to buy drugs, it may contribute to the financing of unspeakable crimes of violence around the world."
Earlier this year, Afghan tribal leader Hajji Bashir Noorzai, who was one of the most wanted drug dealers in the world and had been identified as bin Laden's major heroin supplier, was arrested in New York City on federal criminal charges.
An investigation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration has examined how advanced the plot became when it was hatched a year after the 9/11 attacks.
Bin Laden personally met leaders of a Colombian drug cartel in 2002 to negotiate the purchase of tons of cocaine, saying that he was willing to spend tens of millions of dollars to finance the deal.
"They wanted to kill thousands of people - more than the World Trade Centre," said a source.
Although the drug lords would have reaped millions of dollars in profits by selling the cocaine to bin Laden, they knew that if his plan succeeded it might effectively destroy the market for their cocaine in America. They also feared retaliation from the US government once its citizens started to die from the drugs.
In 2002, the then DEA Director Asa Hutchinson said: "The DEA [has] received multi-source information that Osama bin Laden himself has been involved in the financing and facilitation of heroin-trafficking activities. It is important we recognise that when money goes from the pocket of an American to buy drugs, it may contribute to the financing of unspeakable crimes of violence around the world."
Earlier this year, Afghan tribal leader Hajji Bashir Noorzai, who was one of the most wanted drug dealers in the world and had been identified as bin Laden's major heroin supplier, was arrested in New York City on federal criminal charges.
