Corruption

US Army Fuel Smuggling Ring Likely Helped Fund The Taliban Insurgency

Late one night in February 2011, a group of U.S. soldiers and civilians on a dusty airfield in Jalalabad, Afghanistan conspired to steal and sell jet fuel to a mysterious Afghan contractor. Little did they know that night that the scheme would evolve into a months-long racket that likely ended up funding the Taliban’s ongoing insurgency.

Army Sergeant Kevin Bilal Abdullah, Spc. Stephanie Charboneau and civilian contractors Jonathan Hightower and Christopher Weaver helped an Afghan contractor smuggle over $1,225,000-worth of JP-8 jet fuel off Forward Operating Base Fenty from February to May 2010.

JP-8 is a standard jet fuel utilized by U.S. Air Force aircraft, meaning the fuel ring’s actions likely jeopardized the Air Force’s ability to fly missions in support of U.S. troops, putting their lives in danger.