After the events of 11 September and the defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan, President Saparmurat Niyazov began to remove witnesses to the drug trade, with a "purge" being carried out in the KNB that saw dozens of officers involved in drug trafficking on behalf of Niyazov receiving many years of prison sentences. Kabulov, who knew about all the crossings of the Turkmen border by drug couriers, was also detained. In December 2002, he was arrested on charges of complicity in the assassination attempt on President Saparmurat Niyazov in November 2002. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison. After serving his term of imprisonment and exile, he settled in Ashgabat. He is married with two sons.