[2] There are a variety of speculations that Afridi, following his close collaboration with the CIA for Operation Cyclone against the Soviet Union, was approached by the United States as a part of an effort to gain easier access to Afghanistan and the semi-autonomous tribal areas of Pakistan after 9/11.
He started off as a regular truck driver in his youth but quickly used his transportation connections to make a small fortune by smuggling gold and other contraband.
Afridi was known to have forged close ties with General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq after the latter deposed Pakistan's civilian government in 1977 and declared martial law, establishing a military dictatorship.
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.
After the September 11 attacks he was freed from prison in Karachi after serving just a few weeks of a seven-year sentence for the export of 6.5 tons of hashish, seized at Antwerp, Belgium, in the 1980s.
No reasons were given for Afridi's release, or under which legislation he was allowed to return to his home town in Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
[6] On 30 March 2006 the Supreme Court allowed the Anti Narcotics Force to confiscate a 100-room 'palace' petrol pumps and other properties worth Rs 167.8 million.