“Danger Tourist” Released from Taliban Custody

Photo of Miles Routledge

On Oct. 10, notorious danger tourist “Lord” Miles Routledge was released by the Taliban after being held for 8 months in Afghanistan – actually one of the tamer of the many adventures he has been on.

Among Miles’s other adventures have been climbing to the top of Brazil’s Snake Island, illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, sneaking through the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, becoming a movie star in Uganda, and there’s so much more.

But “Lord Miles” is most known for getting the last tourist visa to Afghanistan and being in Kabul during its fall in August 2021. He was able to catch the last plane out of the country. He wrote a book about it called “Lord Miles in Afghanistan,” available for purchase on Amazon.

Since the fall of Kabul, Miles has visited the country four other times, funding each expedition by selling merchandise he gathers from his travels. But in February of this year, he posted on his social media that he was going back once more – then after that, his social media accounts went silent.

That was until four months later: On July 17, someone claiming to be one of Lord Miles’s friends posted a Tweet, stating the author is “treated very well, has several servants, loads of movies on his laptop, and goes on picnics with the Taliban government.”

At the time, many of his followers were skeptical of this being true. Many believe that his account had been hacked, or in control of the Taliban. It wasn’t until October that we would get an update from Lord Miles himself.

Miles posted on his Twitter account, saying he had been released. He claimed this was the “best adventure I’ve had yet!” and explained how the Taliban treated him as a guest. He also confirmed that the previous tweets sent by his friend were true.

So, why was Miles visiting Afghanistan yet again? And why was he held by the Taliban for eight months?

“I was there to open a gold mine, as you casually do,” Miles stated in an online interview with The Advocate. “I was also hoping to buy up some Taliban merch, like rugs, headbands, flags, all this other stuff I usually buy and re-sell online.”

His trip would soon take a dramatic turn. After exiting a Western Union outlet, he was approached by members of the Taliban who had “been watching me for a little while,” he said. “They thought I was a spy, at one point.”

Miles said he was not afraid. “I was thinking, ‘Wow, there should be no problem. I’ll be out in a few weeks, even in a few days maybe. Should be no problem, whatsoever.’

“I was delusionally optimistic,” he further stated.

As it turned out, the Taliban treated him very well.

“At first, they were a bit weary of me,” he said “They thought ‘Miles could be a really good person, or just absolute scum manipulating us.’ But after a while, I broke some ice. I made some jokes. I really did some diplomatic work, I guess.”

While in custody, he was allowed to keep his laptop and money he had with him and was even given servants. He also claimed to have watched the “Titanic” and “Barbie” movies with a few Taliban members.

“I was treated as a guest, basically,” Miles stated.

In the end, the Taliban discovered that Miles was, indeed, not a spy. He was convicted of not having a license to go to the mountain area where he wanted to start his gold mine.

This won’t be the last adventure for Lord Miles in the area, however. “Within two weeks I’m going back,” he said in our Nov. 2 interview. “I got a promised tour of Tora Bora, which are the cave systems in Afghanistan where the Taliban (have) hung out, themselves.

“So I’m going to go around that cave. No YouTubers have done that.”

Kaden Reams