Srinagar, Nov 20: In a major success, a key accused in a 2020 narco-terror case was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Kashmir, officials said.
They said that Muneer Ahmad Banday, a resident of Banday Mohalla Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district was a proclaimed offender carrying a cash reward of a half a million.
NIA which is probing the case said Muneer Banday, who had been evading arrest since the last four years, was a key part of the conspiracy, aimed at generating funds to spread terror in J&K and other parts of India.
The funds were to be used for furtherance of terrorist activity in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir through a network of over ground workers (OGWs), NIA said.
It added that the conspiracy, involving operatives of banned terrorist outfits like Lashkar-E-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) came to light in June 2020 when the Handwara (Kupwara) police registered a case following seizure of 2 kgs of heroin and Rs. 20 lakhs in cash during checking of vehicles at Kairo Bridge.
The vehicle of accused Abdul Momin Peer was intercepted while coming from Baramulla to Handwara, leading to the seizure. Further interrogation of Momin Peer resulted in the recovery of another 15 kgs of heroin and Rs. 1.15 crores in cash.
NIA, which took over the case and re-registered it in its Jammu branch on June 23, 2020 under various sections of IPC, NDPS Act and UA(P) Act, has filed a series of chargesheets so far against a total of 15 persons in the case.
It said the agency is continuing with its investigations to dismantle the narco-terror network and destroy the root of the terror funding in the country, particularly in Kashmir.
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