CHENNAI/MAYILADUTHURAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested a person, suspected to be an important operative of the ISIS (international terrorist organisation), from the central part of Chennai and conducted searches around 20 locations in Chennai and Mayiladuthurai districts, sources said.
The arrested was identified as Al Fazid, a native of Mayiladuthurai district, who was living in Chennai for close to a year, sources said, adding that he was working as an ambulance driver in Purasawalkam and was allegedly involved in radicalising youngsters to join the ISIS through instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.
Fazid was taken to the NIA’s office in Purasawalkam in Chennai and interrogated for around six hours on Tuesday, sources said. In Thirumullaivasal in Kollidam block of the district, NIA teams raided houses on streets such as Nadutheru, MGR Nagar, Main Road, and Ellaikatti Eripu, synchronously.
The raids began around 4 am and got over around 11 am. The officials seized electronic evidence such as laptops, mobile phones, pen drives and other documents during the raids for further investigation.
Fazid’s link to alleged ISIS operative Iqma Sadiq, arrested in 2022, is under probe.