[SDNY] Bashir Noorzai, a former Mujahideen warlord and strong ally of the Taliban, was sentenced to life in prison on heroin importation and distribution conspiracy charges. Noorzai had strong ties with Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. In 2001, after the U.S. began military operations in Afghanistan, Noorzai provided the Taliban with fighters to wage a battle against Afghanistan's Northern Alliance in Mazar-e-Sharif.