Ken Hechtman

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Ken Hechtman (born December 16, 1967) is a freelance journalist and convicted drug dealer from Canada who achieved brief international prominence in late 2001 when Afghanistan's Taliban government charged him with being a United States spy while he researched a story for the Montreal Mirror . Afghanistan tried, acquitted, and released him after a short time in jail. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Hechtman was born in Montreal, Canada.

In fall 1986, he began studying at Columbia University where, in his free time, he explored the Columbia University tunnels. [2] That same academic year, in February 1987, campus security found chemicals including Uranium-238 and chloroform in Hechtman's McBain Hall dormitory. [3] He was suspended from the university for a year and was required to reapply for admission. [4] Instead, he planned to attend Vanier College. [4]

In 1989, it was reported that he spent 9 days in jail for assaulting a police officer while protesting the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. [5]

Capture by the Taliban

On November 25, 2001, he was captured by the Taliban hours after crossing into Afghanistan, while working as a reporter for the Montreal Mirror. [6] He was held in the town of Spin Boldak [7] and was released approximately one week later. [8] At that time, he identified as Jewish. [6]

Criminal charges

He married fellow Montrealer and journalist Wendy Hechtman on September 12, 2015. They moved to Nebraska in February 2016. [9]

In 2017, Hechtman and his wife Wendy were charged with conspiracy to manufacture 10 grams or more of fentanyl analogue, conspiracy to distribute a fentanyl analogue, and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue between on or about March 2017 and October 30, 2017. [10] According to police investigators, the pair invented a pastel-colored version of carfentanil, an opioid that can be up to 10,000 times more powerful than morphine and that can kill a human with only a few grains touching human skin. Hechtman allegedly "developed a sophisticated marketing system with a sales team of about 40 people." [11]

They pleaded guilty, and were both sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in 2018. [12] Hechtman was released on probation in November 2023. [13]

References

  1. ↑ Steele, Jonathan (3 December 2001). "From rookie reporter to Taliban prisoner". the Guardian.
  2. ↑ "The Bwog: Rebel With Uranium". 2007-09-28. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  3. ↑ "Columbia Daily Spectator 16 February 1987 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  4. 1 2 "Freshmen Punished for Stealing Uranium | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  5. ↑ "Columbia Daily Spectator 25 September 1989 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  6. 1 2 Steele, Jonathan (2001-12-04). "From rookie reporter to Taliban prisoner". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  7. ↑ Team, Editorial (2001-11-29). "Canadian Journalist Kidnapped By The Taliban Kept In Spin Boldak". PravdaReport. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  8. ↑ "The Front: December 6, 2001". 2005-11-30. Archived from the original on 30 November 2005. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  9. ↑ "Well-known Montreal couple face life imprisonment in Nebraska drug case".
  10. ↑ "November 2017 Grand Jury". US Department of Justice. November 27, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  11. ↑ "Police: Couple invented, cooked, marketed carfentanil, an opioid that 'would pretty much kill you instantly'". Fox 6 Milwaukee. 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  12. ↑ Hassanzadeh, Erin (2019-01-29). "Busted Omaha drug operation sounds like fiction, except it wasn't". KETV. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  13. ↑ "United States v. Hechtman, 8:17-cr-00336 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved 2024-07-30.

Bibliography

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