India initiates multi-agency probe after arrest of 9 Pak nationals linked to narco-terrorism, FICN

NEW DELHI: A multi-agency probe — involving Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Customs and India’s external intelligence agency RAW — has begun on suspicion of narco-terrorism soon after six Pakistan nationals were arrested in high sea off Gujarat coast from a fishing boat from Karachi, just a day after the results for general elections were announced.
In a simultaneous operation, three Pakistani and three Nepali nationals were arrested in Kathmandu with Rs 7.6 crore in fake Indian currency notes (FICN) of Rs 2000 denomination. “Those arrested included FICN kingpin Yunus Ansari,” said a senior DRI official.
Ansari is known to have links with India’s most wanted don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistan intelligence agency ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and has been responsible for running FICN network from Nepal. He is also suspected to have links with proscribed Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba that has been responsible for several bomb blasts in India. Son of a former Cabinet minister of Nepal Saleem Mia Ansari, Yunus was arrested twice earlier in 2010 and in 2014 based on DRI information for circulating FICN.
“In the last few months, maritime route in the Indian Ocean has been exploited by the international organised narcotic smuggling syndicates for trafficking drugs. The other sensitive route has been India-Pakistan border in J&K where DRI had made seizure of heroin and arms and ammunition in a joint operation with Indian army last year,” a senior DRI official said.
The two operations have set alarm bells ringing with security and intelligence agencies starting to investigate the sleeper cells active in India. In case of the fishing boat intercepted in the high sea off Gujarat coast on May 22, it was found that the six Pakistani crew were carrying 330 kg of Brown Sugar. The contraband was to be delivered to Indian contacts in the high sea before they were intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard.
Moments after they were asked to surrender, the crew members started dumping consignment in the sea and managed to drop at least 100 kg of the banned Brown Sugar packets. Initial rounds of questioning of the accused have revealed the crew was only carrying drugs. However, intelligence agencies are probing if consignments of arms and ammunition have also found their way into Indian territory through the sea route from Karachi.
The Pak nationals were brought to Jakhau (Kutch) on the Gujarat coast and arrested. The Coast Guard officials also intercepted an Indian fishing boat which was found to be suspicious.
“Investigations by DRI have revealed that this Pakistani boat ‘Al-Madina’ had made a similar journey for delivery of drugs into India,” the DRI official said. While this time Pakistani boat had started from Ibrahim Haidari Port in Karachi, the week before they had loaded the drugs at the port of Mahadi, Balochistan on May 10 but due to bad weather and the Indian recipient not turning up in the high sea led to the failure of the first mission.