ED targets narco-terror module with searches across J&K and Punjab

Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jammu Sub Zonal Office has conducted search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at 9 locations in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, near Line of Control (LOC), in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation relating to Narco-Terror Funding, involving cases registered by Jammu and Kashmir Police and Punjab Police.

The investigation revealed a well-organised and a multi-layered narco-terror funding network operating between Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir, involving Punjab-based handlers including Satnam Singh and Manjit Singh @ Maan, and Kupwara, Kashmir (near LOC) based operatives including Safeer Ahmed and Kafeel Ahmed. Heroin consignments were smuggled from Pakistan through Pakistan-based handlers linked with terrorist organization, Hizbul Mujahideen, who coordinated with Kashmir-based accused including Safeer Ahmed and Kafeel Ahmed for smuggling heroin through the Amrohi border/LoC adjoining areas into India, ED said on Friday.

In one instance, 35 packets of heroin were retrieved, out of which 05 packets were distributed/retained locally and 30 packets were concealed in a truck tyre for transportation to Srinagar. The consignment was delivered in Srinagar to Punjab-based carriers Sarabjeet Singh and Honey Basra, who were later intercepted at Banihal in September 2023 with 30 packets weighing about 31 kg heroin. The Punjab-side network, headed by Satnam Singh and Manjit Singh @ Maan, used forged documents, fake vehicle papers, concealed cavities, multiple vehicles and cash transactions to transport and distribute heroin.

Multiple other instances were found relating to transportation of heroin from Srinagar/J&K to Punjab through an organised network headed by Satnam Singh and Manjit Singh @ Maan s/o Satnam Singh, wherein carriers and transporters were deployed to collect heroin consignments, cumulatively more than 60 kg, from Kashmir-side operatives and deliver the same in Punjab for further sale and distribution. The proceeds of crime so generated via heroin sales were used to fund terror activities.

ED investigation revealed banking transactions, including high-value cash deposits in accounts of Manjit Singh @ Maan and cash deposits in the account of Sarabjeet Singh. The searches conducted by ED, particularly in border/LoC-adjoining areas, against the narco-terror funding network are significant as they target the source-side logistics and local facilitators linked with the cross-border narcotics supply chain.

During the searches, several incriminating documents and bank account records were recovered and seized under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. Also, several bank accounts cumulatively having an amount of approximately Rs. 49.9 lakh have been frozen.

Further investigation is under progress.