Narco-terrorism: Terrorist nabbed with heroin

This is the first time a banned terrorist outfit Hizb-Ul-Mujahidin member was caught with huge haul of drugs worth Rs 35 crores in the national capital meant to raise funds to carry out terror strikes in India.

The anti-terror unit of Delhi Police – Special Cell -- exposed narco-terrorism trail with arrest of constable of Jammu and Kashmir police who is a member of Pakistan-based Hizb-Ul-Mujahidin and was carrying out drug trafficking in India.

The constable has been identified as Khurshid Alam, who is a resident of Guthali Bagh in Ganderbal of Jammu and Kashmir Police. “He was arrested from Humayun Tomb in Nizamuddin while he was giving drugs to two truck drivers of Perambudur district of Tamil Nadu -- B. Ganesh, and M. Senthil,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) S N Srivastava.

A total of 10 Kgs of heroin, worth approximately Rs 35 in the international market has been recovered from their possession.

“As per the investigations conducted so far, the kingpin of this syndicate is a Kuwait-based Ali,” said Srivastava adding that Ali orchestrates the activities of this drug cartel over phone and through internet telephony. Ali co-ordinates with Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Hizb-Ul-Mujahidin members for channeling drug supplies into India.

Arrested Constable Khurshid revealed that Fayyaz, an area commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahidin, presently based in Abottabad in Pakistan has been sending consignments of drugs through his conduits active in Uri sector of Jammu  and Kashmir. “Fayyaz uses the money they he get from this trade to carry out terror activities,” said the officer.

The officer said that Fayyaz has pumped around contraband worth around 200 crore in India and most of the time Khurshid Alam was involved. “From August last year, Khurshid Alam has came to Delhi around eight to ten times with drug consignment,” said the officer.

Fayyaz is a known cadre of Hizb-ul-Mujahidin who was active in Ganderbal area of Kashmir valley till 2006 and thereafter, returned to Pakistan and has been since acting as a launch commander for terrorists who infiltrate into India to carry out terrorist strikes.

In August, 2013, Fayyaz  sent five militants sent who were killed in a counter-insurgency operation in Penag area of Ganderbal in Jammu and Kashmir. “We are probing whether Khurshid Alam was involved in five killed terrorists to infiltrate in the country,” said the officer.

The police is probing Alam role of provide logistic support to these terrorists.  During interrogation, the police have also found that Alam and Fayyaz were distant relatives.

“They were on nabbed on January 19, following a tip-off. The police came to know that two people from Tamil Nadu, who had come to Delhi, will be collecting drugs from a Kashmiri supplier near the Humayun Tomb in Nizamuddin. A raid was conducted and accused B. Ganesh, M. Senthil  and Constable Khurshid Alam were apprehended with heroin,” said the officer.

During interrogation, Alam told police he was in touch with Fayyaz had received consignments from his several conduits in Srinagar which was onward carried by him to Delhi, where South Indian members of this cartel received the consignments’ for onward delivery in Chennai.

He further disclosed that he had been visiting Delhi for over the last one year and has, so far, supplied around 80 kgs of heroine to several conduits and cartel members. On every occasion, persons belonging to South India had been the receivers from Khurshid.

During interrogations of Ganesh and Senthil, they told police disclosed that they are member of an international drug syndicate being run by Ali, who hails from Tamil Nadu and is presently based in Kuwait.

A man named of a code name of man - Gopi (identity yet to be established) -- operates as the resident manager on behalf of Ali and looks after South India operations by managing carriers and suppliers and controls their movements. Ganesh and Senthil were roped into the trade by some downward links of Gopi against the promise of handsome money for each successful receipt of consignments from Delhi and their safe delivery in Tamil Nadu.

“Efforts are underway to probe deeper into the narco-terrorism nexus and to establish the identities of other Indian as well as overseas-based terrorist of this syndicate,” added the officer.

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Police choked the drug flow before New Year

Barley 72 hours before the Delhiites were planning to go on a high in New Year revelry, the Special Cell of Delhi Police choked the contraband flow and seized purest quality of heroin and crack cocaine worth Rs 150 crores.

“The heroin seized were probably for the use of New Year celebrations across Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Mumbai,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) S N Srivastava. The officer said the contraband was of purest quality and is in demand in parties. The seized heroin and crack cocaine are from Afghanistan and were smuggled in the country from India and Pakistan border at Amritsar.

The police have arrested four people -- Shurbir Singh, Ragmeet Singh, Venugopal Reddy and Autar Singh – from across Delhi in last ten days and few more are on police radar.

Autar is the main conduit, who was in touch with Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar drug traffickers.  He had made his house in Tilak Nagar a drug warehouse where he used to stock drugs and supply to the other peddlers on direction of Afghanistan-based trafficker Samiullah. In last one year, they have supplied 127 kgs of heroin worth Rs 375 crores and 2 kgs of crack cocaine.

In mid October 2012, a high-profile meeting took place at Primus Hospital in Chanakya Puri and later at a hotel in Lajpat Nagar where drug traffickers from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India were present. The traffickers came to India on medical visa. From Afghanistan Samiullah and from India Autar and Shurbir attended the meeting with other drug traffickers. “They knew Persian and Pashto languages and were also working as translator for Afghani patients,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.

The meeting was held on direction of Ali based in Kuwait. This syndicate was being orchestrated by Ali and Samiullah based in Afghanistan. Ali manages demand across these countries and Samiullah procure it from Afghanistan and supply it across various countries. Autar and Shurbir were made the main supplier who would stock the drugs in Delhi and will supply across India and Sri Lanka. On every kilogramme, they were getting 500 US dollar as commission.

Samiullah, who has a well-developed network of Indian drug peddlers, told the peddlers to receive all the consignments from Autar and Shurbir. The duo got the first consignment of two kilogramme of heroin in December 2012 at Safdarjung Hospital. They were asked to operate using new sim on fake address each time they get consignment.

By March 2013, the quantity of consignments being received by them increased to 21 packets in a single delivery.  Also, they had got introduced to several peddlers both Delhi residents as well as residents of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Sri Lanka. For growth of this the cartel, Autar went to Afghanistan in September and stayed there for over a month with Samiullah.

Samiullah also introduced him to peddling of crack cocaine which is even more costly than heroine.

In December second week, 55 kgs of heroin worth approximately 150 crores and two kgs of crack cocaine were delivered by them by a conduit of Samiullah at the District Centre in Janakpuri. This consignment was kept in two separate bags in the house of Shurbir and Autar. Peddlers from across India and Sri Lanka started taking consignment from them.

They were arrested after police seized purest quality heroin from a road side peddler a few months ago and got suspicious that there was influx of drugs in Delhi from Afghanistan

Technical surveillance of mobile numbers for almost two months led to international drug cartel.  On December 18, 2013, technical input was received by inspector Umesh Barthwal that a suspect called Reddy from Andhra Pradesh was coming on Shankar Road in Delhi to collect drugs. Venugopal Reddy was held and on his search three kgs of heroin was recovered.

Reddy interrogation led to arrest Shurbir and Ragmeet from Majnu Ka Tila where they had gone supply heroin on December 19. “We recovered 6 kg from their possession. Ragmeet, a resident of Tilak Nagar, joined the cartel on Shurbir Singh influence,” Yadav.

They disclosed the name of main handler Autar who was directly dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan counterparts.

On December 28, 2013, Autar was nabbed from G T Karnal Road and on search of Hyundai Santro car in which he was travelling 32 kilogramme of heroin and two kilogramme of crack cocaine were recovered. Thereafter, six kilogramme of heroin was recovered from his house.

Autar Singh told police that he was fleeing to Amritsar to hide the heroin after he came to know about arrest of Shurbir and Ragmeet.

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