Srinagar: State Investigation Agency on Saturday carried out searches at multiple locations across the Kashmir Valley in connection with a narco-militancy case.
In a statement, issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), a spokesperson said that the SIA of J&K Police conducted extensive searches at different locations in Srinagar, Budgam & Kupwara today.
The statement reads that these searches were part of an investigation against narco-militancy case, financing militancy through smuggling hard drugs from Pakistan and selling it in J&K and in other parts of the country.
“Equipped with search warrants issued by the the court of Special Judge, designated under NIA Act (TADA/POTA) Srinagar, house searches were conducted in connection with investigation of case FIR No. 17/2022 u/s 8,21,29 NDPS Act, 13,17,18,39, 40 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 121 and 120-B, 121, 121-A IPC of Police Station CI-SIA Kashmir,” it reads.
It added that the case was registered by Police Station, CI-SIA(K), Srinagar on receipt of reliable information that a group of person(s) working as OGW(s) for different organization(s) under a well knit criminal conspiracy hatched with member(s) of militant organization(s) are involved in border smuggling of narcotic drugs and the proceeds thereof are passed on to the militant organization(s) for furtherance of militant activities in J&K.
“During investigation, it surfaced that organization(s) across the border in order to fuel the militant activities in Jammu & Kashmir are adopting various means and methods to provide logistic support to militants in Jammu & Kashmir and one of the ways and means is to send consignments of heroin, brown sugar and other contraband substances worth lakhs of rupees and smuggle the same to valley.”
It reads that these consignments are being sold in markets or smuggled to other parts of the country for sale and proceeds of sale are being ploughed back or passed on to militant organizations to further militant and unlawful activities.
“During the searches, incriminating material including digital weighing machine, Cell phones, electronic gadgets, important documents, bank accounts, digital evidences and other incriminating material having a bearing on the investigation of the case were recovered and seized,” it added.
It further reads that analysis of the data and evidences would follow and leads that would emerge would become the basis for further investigation—(KNO)
