WASHINGTON, April 4: A Pakistani citizen has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for his alleged role in a plot to obtain and sell Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Muhammed Abid Afridi, 32, pleaded guilty in March 2004 to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to distribute heroin and hashish.

US District Judge M. James Lorenz sentenced Afridi to 57 months in custody, followed by five years of supervised release.

Co-defendants Ilyas Ali and Syed Mustajab Shah also pleaded guilty to the same federal conspiracy charges. Sentencing for Shah, 57, also of Pakistan, is set for June 19. Ali, 58, a naturalised US citizen born in India, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10.

On Sept 15, 2002, Shah, Afridi and Ali travelled from Karachi to Hong Kong, to meet with US undercover officers to negotiate the sale of large quantities of hashish and heroin, according to the indictment.

The next day, the defendants agreed that the purchase price of five metric tons of hashish and 600 kilograms of heroin could be offset against the cost of four “Stinger” anti-aircraft missiles.

On Sept 18, 2002, at a hotel in Hong Kong, the defendants told undercover agents that they intended to sell the “Stinger” missiles to members of the Taliban, which they indicated was the same as Al Qaeda.