NIA file charge-sheet against six for involvement in trans border narco-terror activities

Jammu, December 5: NIA on Saturday filed charge-sheet in the court of NIA Special Court, Jammu, against six accused involved in trans border narco-terror activities in Jammu Kashmir and elsewhere the country.

Hailing from different localities of Handwara in Kashmir, accused include Abdul Momin Peer alias Peerzada Momen, an assistant lineman with Power Development Department, Syed Iftikhar Abdrabi, a village level worker (VLW) working at Block Development Office Kupwara, Islam-ul-Haq, a sanitary shop owner, Afaq Ahmad Wani, a branch manager in Baramulla Central Cooperative Bank, besides Saleem Andrabi, working at a Bal Ashram under Social Welfare Department and Muneer Ahmad Banday alias Ishfaq, a cement shop owner.

 The last two, Saleem Andrabi and Muneer Ahmad Banday are stated to be absconding, while the other four have been arrested.

Narating the sequence of events leading to apprehension of the accused, NIA said that on June 11 this year, a police naka party during routine checking of vehicles intercepted a Creta belonging to Abdul Momin Peer at Kairo Bridge, Handwara. During search, cash worth Rs 20.01 lakh and tw0 kg heroin were seized and Abdul Momim Peer arrested.

Later, on his disclosure, Syed Iftikhar Andrabi, 50, and Islam-Ul-Haq Peer, 20, were arrested.

The NIA re-registered the case and took up investigations on June 23.

Accused Afaq Ahmad Wani, who had been on the run, was arrested by NIA on the basis of technical analysis on July 16.

Investigation revealed that accused persons including Abdul Momin Peer and Saleem Andrabi were involved in cross-border smuggling and supply of Narcotic drug Heroin in Jammu and Kashmir, and other parts of the country after procuring the same from their associates based abroad including Pakistan, the charge-sheet said. The accused Iftikhar Andrabi and Abdul Momin Peer had visited Pakistan several times during 2016-17 to meet the operatives of terrorist organizations, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), it said, adding the the amount generated from the sale of Heroin was pumped by the accused to further the terrorist activities of Lashkar-E-Taiba (LeT).

Further investigation in the case were in progress, it added.