NEW DELHI: The anti-terror federal probe agency NIA on Saturday said that it has attached four properties and seized cash in the Handwara narco-terrorism case, involving two banned terrorist outfits under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act – UA(P)A including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
In an official statement the NIA said, “The properties belonging to the four accused have been attached in tehsil Handwara of district Kupwara. The agency has also seized a total of Rs 2.27 crore in cash under Section 25 of the UA(P) Act.”
It said, “The Immovable properties attached are the double-storeyed house of accused Afaq Ahmad Wani, the single-storeyed house of accused Muneer Ahmad Pandey, the house of Saleem Andrabi and the double-storeyed house of Islam ul Haq.”
A total of 12 accused have so far been arrested in the case, in which the NIA has charge sheeted 15 individuals.
The Handwara narco-terrorism case, which was registered in March 2020, relates to the use of the ‘proceeds of illicit drugs’ to fund violent terror activities by LeT and HM operating in the Handwara-Kupwara region of Jammu and Kashmir.
The case was registered following the recovery of a black bag and a large number of Indian currency notes of 500 denominations during the checking of vehicles in the Langate area of Handwara. The seizure was made from a white Creta car without a registration number, the NIA said.
Preliminary questioning of the car’s driver, Abdul Momin Peer, had led to the revelations about the narco-terror nexus, which had led the NIA to take up the case and make a detailed investigation, it said, adding that during the initial searches in the houses of various accused, 21 kg of heroin was seized, in addition to various incriminating materials, including large sums of cash.