The National Investigation Agency has arrested two individuals in Jammu & Kashmir. Both of the accused have been arrested in the cross-LoC trade and terror funding case. The NIA has also conducted various raids across the region in the past few days regarding terror-funding case.
The NIA released a statement on Tuesday mentioning that Tanveer Ahmad Wani s/o Ghulam Ahmad Wani of Achagoza in Pulwama and Peer Arshad Iqbal alias Ashu of Khwaja Bagh in Baramulla have been arrested in case RC-17/2016/NIA/DLI.
According to the investigating agency, the case involves the creation of additional profits through a method of cross-LoC commerce between J&K and PoK and the use of those resources to finance terrorist activities in the region of Jammu & Kashmir. Trade was initiated in 2008 through two trade facilitation centres (TFCs) situated at Salamabad, Uri in the Baramulla district, and Chakan-da-Bagh in the Poonch district.
According to the SOP for the trading mechanism, only 21 types of products could be traded between POK and J&K on the basis of barter system. The investigation revealed that the dealers gained extra profit by generating over-invoices of export items and under-invoicing items that were to be imported. The accused who are detained were managing a number of cross-LoC trading enterprises that were either registered in their own names or in the names of their friends, family, and other associates. They would use this money to fund numerous terrorist organizations, Over Ground Workers (OGWs), stone-pelters, etc. The NIA will continue to further investigate the case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is India’s main counter-terrorist task force. The agency is authorised by a formal order from the Ministry of Home Affairs to handle the investigation of offences related to terrorism in other states without requesting special consent from those jurisdictions. It has led the war against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
