Kyrgyz Added To U.S. 'Drug Kingpin' List

Kyrgyz Deputy Interior Minister Melis Turganbaev (pictured) says Kamchybek Kolbaev had connections with ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiev.

A Kyrgyz national added to a U.S. list of global drug kingpins is a reputed crime boss who is believed to have fled the Central Asian country, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Kamchybek Kolbaev was among seven people added on June 2 by U.S. President Barack Obama to a list of foreign individuals who will be subject to U.S. sanctions.

The move means U.S. companies and individuals are barred from doing business with Kolbaev.

Kolbaev is wanted in Kyrgyzstan for organized and transnational criminal activities.

Authorities say he is one of the country's main organized criminals, who is involved in activities ranging from drug-trafficking to extortion and attempted murder.

Deputy Interior Minister Melis Turganbaev told RFE/RL on June 3 that Kolbaev was connected to a brother of former President Kurmanbek Bakiev, who was ousted in April 2010.

The U.S. Treasury lists Kolbaev's aliases as Kamchi Bishkekskiy and Kolya-Kyrgyz, and says he was born in Cholpon-Ata, northeastern Kyrgyzstan, in August 1974.