From New York heroin dealer to Afghanistan’s biggest oil man

KABUL (Reuters) - One-eyed Rateb Popal's debut as an Afghan businessman was not promising: he was caught smuggling heroin and locked up in a New York federal prison for almost a decade.

Popal had better luck once back in Afghanistan, where he emerged from obscurity to make millions in U.S. army convoy security following the 2001 removal of the Islamist Taliban. He went on to win rights to the first major oil and gas project.