From: CNN
***
That was probably in part because of Belmokhtar’s smuggling and kidnapping rackets, which netted his group tens of millions of dollars. He gained the nickname “Mr Marlboro” because of cigarette smuggling, and his group kidnapped a Canadian diplomat, Robert Fowler, in 2008, among many other foreign workers. It also moved drugs and illegal migrants and bought plenty of weapons and alliances with the proceeds.
***
Belmokhtar and Benghazi
Some sources also connected Belmokhtar to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound and annex in Benghazi in September 2012, in which Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed.
