New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at six locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with a narco-terror funding case. The raids are underway at two premises in Jammu and four in the Kashmir region. Among the properties being raided is the property of former minister and former MLA Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh in Kathua.
Officials familiar with the developments said the ED’s Jammu sub-regional office has been conducting searches in this case since early Thursday morning. The case stems from the arrest of a man named Mohammad Sharif Shah by police on March 30, 2022, who was attempting to transfer ₹6.9 lakh (approximately $1.6 million) from Kashmir to Jammu for Jatinder Singh.
Officials said the money was allegedly meant to be given to separatist and subversive groups in Jammu to carry out subversive activities. Officials stated that subsequent investigations revealed a widespread network involving several accused, including Saif Din, Farooq Ahmed Naiku, and Mubashir Mushtaq Fafu, who were allegedly part of a cross-border narco-terrorist module operated by Pakistan-based handlers.
Analysis of financial records revealed that accused Farooq Ahmed Naiku operated a narco-terror funding racket in which heroin smuggled from Pakistan was sold in India during 2021-22. More than ₹2 crore was deposited in local bank accounts in Srinagar and later transferred to the accounts of Indian nationals working in Dubai, who served as the endpoint to conceal the source of the funds.
Officials stated that the laundered funds withdrawn and deposited in Dubai were further routed to Hizbul Mujahideen operatives based in Pakistan. ED investigation is underway to trace the remaining amount and identify other persons linked to the narco-terrorist network.
