Srinagar: The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday arrested a key handler involved in a narco-terror case linked to the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, officials said.
The accused, identified as Basharat Ali, a resident of Tad Karnah in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, was apprehended by an SIA Kashmir team from Bemina area of Srinagar after remaining absconding for nearly three years.
According to officials, the case is related to a Pakistan-sponsored narco-terror module of LeT, which was engaged in smuggling narcotics and weapons across the border into the Karnah sector.
“The proceeds from narcotics trade were being used to finance terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,” an official said.
Ali is the fourth proclaimed offender arrested in the case, and the SIA expects his interrogation to reveal more links in the network, the official added.
The agency has intensified its crackdown on narco-terror networks this year, conducting multiple operations that have led to the arrest of several key operatives of terror organisations, he said.
