U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in the Southern District of New York will combine his office’s international narcotics and terrorism units, The New York Times reported yesterday.

Preet Bharara (DOJ)

Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor told The Times that he believes that members of radical Islamic organizations are venturing into drug trafficking to fund their operations. Western intelligence and law enforcement officials say al Qaeda, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Hezbollah are among the extremists groups that have a relationship with drug traffickers, according to the newspaper.

Bharara noted that last month the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested three Africans on terrorism and drug trafficking charges brought by his office, according to The Times. The three men allegedly have ties to al Qaeda, the newspaper said.

“It would be sort of law enforcement and national security malpractice not to also be going at it this way,” Bharara told The Times.

The new Terrorism and International Narcotics unit will include 21 prosecutors and three managers from the old terrorism and national security and international narcotics trafficking units, according to the newspaper. Michael Farbiarz, who served as a deputy in the terrorism unit, and Anjan Sahni, who was the chief of international narcotics, will lead the new unit, The Times said. Jocelyn Strauber, who served under Sahni, will be their deputy, according to the newspaper.

The Southern District will now have double the number of prosecutors working on terrorism cases as it heads into the trial of 9/11 “mastermind� Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, known in law enforcement circles as KSM, and four other suspected terrorists.

We reported last week that Southern District of New York Assistant U.S. Attorney David Raskin is expected to head the Justice Department team that will prosecute the terrorism suspects. Raskin previously led the office’s terrorism unit.

A Southern District of New York terrorism prosecutor will likely have another opportunity to handle a 9/11-era case, The New York Times reported today.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Raskin is expected to head the Justice Department team that will prosecute self-identified 9/11 “mastermind� Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, known in law enforcement circles as KSM, and four other suspected terrorists when they leave Guantanamo Bay for a trial in Manhattan, according to the newspaper.

Raskin previously assisted in the successful prosecution of al-Qaeda operative  Zacarias Moussaoui in Alexandria, Va. Moussaoui was convicted of a 9/11-related conspiracy to crash airplanes into buildings.

Eastern District of Virginia Assistant U.S. Attorney John Davis will also work on the KSM case, according to The Times. Davis aided in the successful prosecution of John Walker Lindh, an American who was captured with the Taliban in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Justice Department has not announced who will lead the case against KSM and the four other suspected terrorists. But Attorney General Eric Holder said prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia will handle the case.

The Assistant U.S. Attorneys and their offices declined to comment to The Times.

Raskin and Davis have recently stepped down from key leadership posts in their office to focus their attention on the case, the newspaper said. The SDNY prosecutor led his office’s terrorism unit. Davis headed his office’s criminal division.

“They’ve each got a very strong compass and a very even keel,� former Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley, who led the government’s 9/11 probe and has worked both of the prosecutors, told The Times.