NIA raids arrested truck driver’s house in narco-militancy case

The National Investigation Agency on Thursday carried out a raid at the residence of a man arrested in Amritsar, in an alleged narco-militancy case.

Sources said NIA sleuths carried out a raid in Nowgam, Khandaypora area of Awantipora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district at the residence of Hilal Ahmad Wagay, a truck driver, who was arrested on April 26 in Amritsar.

Wagay was claimed to have been arrested with Rs 29 lakh cash by Punjab Police and the case was later taken over by the NIA which established links between Wagay and Ranjit Singh, a notorious narco-militant, who was arrested from Sirsa area of Haryana in May this year.

The NIA says Ranjit Singh was a close aide of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief, Riyaz Naikoo, who was killed by security forces in Pulwama in May. Singh was involved in the Hizbul terror-financing module run by Wagay.

The NIA had registered a case in June last year and filed the first charge sheet against 15 people, including Singh, and four companies, in December the same year. The module was being run through narcotics smuggled into India along with rock salt imported from Pakistan.

The NIA said that the investigation found evidence that “Pakistan-based militant organisations were using narcotic trade to generate funds for militant activities in India.”

“The proceeds of narcotic trade are transferred to Kashmir valley through couriers and Hawala channel for militancy purposes,” the NIA said.