Ken Hechtman

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]

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]