New Delhi, July 24 — In a crackdown against narco-terror funding, the ED conducted search operations at nine locations in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, recovering incriminating financial documents and freezing bank accounts with deposits adding up to Rs 49 lakh, an official said on Friday.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jammu Sub Zonal Office, conducted the search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on Thursday, said the ED official in a statement.
The searches in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir (near the Line of Control (LOC) were connected to an ongoing money laundering investigation relating to narco-terror funding, involving cases registered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Punjab Police, the ED said.
The investigation revealed a well-organised and 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, the ED said.
Heroin consignments were smuggled from Pakistan through Pakistan-based handlers linked with a terrorist organisation, 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, the ED said.
In one instance, 35 packets of heroin were retrieved, out of which five packets were distributed/retained locally and 30 packets were concealed in a truck tyre for transportation to Srinagar, the ED said.
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 heroin packets weighing about 31 kg.
The Punjab-side network, headed by Satnam Singh and Manjit Singh, used forged documents, fake vehicle papers, concealed cavities, multiple vehicles and cash transactions to transport and distribute heroin, the ED said.
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, son of Satnam Singh, wherein carriers and transporters were deployed to collect heroin consignments, cumulatively weighing more than 60 kg, from Kashmir-side operatives and deliver them in Punjab for further sale and distribution.
The Proceeds of Crime so generated via heroin sales were used to fund terror activities, the ED said.
The ED investigation revealed banking transactions, including high-value cash deposits in accounts of Manjit Singh and cash deposits in the account of Sarabjeet Singh. The searches conducted by the 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 Rs 49.9 lakh have been frozen, the ED said.