The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has busted a racket allegedly working for the revival of a militant group in Sri Lanka. The agency has arrested one member and seized illegal proceeds.
The National Investigation Agency has seized a huge cache of cash, gold bars, mobile phones, memory cards, drugs and documents, along with other incriminating material, during raids and searches at the Chennai residential and business premises of eight suspects.
The crackdown on Thursday was on Indo-Sri Lankan illegal drugs and arms trade racket, which allegedly was working for the revival of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant organisation in Sri Lanka involved in the civil war in the island nation
In the operation, which began in July last year, the probe agency arrested one of the members of the racket, identified as Ayyappan Nandhu.
Ayyappan Nandhu allegedly managed the drug trade on behalf of Muhammed Asmin, a Sri Lankan refugee and a drug trafficker who conspired with other accused to revive LTTE through drugs and arms trade.
The agency so far has arrested 14 people, 13 from previous raids, including at the Special Detention Camp in Trichy.
During the probe, the agency found leads establishing that the proceeds of drugs and arms from trade in Sri Lanka were received in India through hawala agents.
The NIA further unearthed that hawala transactions involving the proceeds from the Drugs and Arms trade were handled through hotels and businesses based in Chennai’s Mannadi.
On Thursday, the NIA seized Rs 68 lakh Indian currency and 1000 Singapore Dollars, nine gold biscuits of 300 grams from the shop of a person named Shahid Ali.
The NIA has also recovered Rs 12 lakh Indian currency from the hotel Orange Palace in Chennai.
Source: Indiatoday