NIA raids: In a recent crackdown on Indo-Sri Lankan illegal drugs and arms trade racket, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted raids at multiple places belonging to suspects in Chennai and arrested a man.
According to reports, the said racket was allegedly working for the revival of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). During its raids, the agency also seized a huge cache of cash, gold bars, digital devices drugs and documents, along with other incriminating material during the raid.
NIA made 14 arrests since July 2022
Since the NIA began its investigations into the racket in July 2022, the agency has so far made 14 arrests. Earlier, in December 2022, 13 accused were arrested during raids in 21 locations across Tamil Nadu.
Investigations into the case have revealed that the proceeds of drugs and arms trade in Sri Lanka were received in India through hawala agents, including one Shahid Ali of Chennai. It was further found that the hawala transactions were done through hotels and businesses based in Mannadi, Chennai.
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Items seized by NIA
The recent seizure on April 6 included Rs 68 lakhs in Indian currency and 1,000 Singapore Dollars, nine gold biscuits (total 300 gram) from the shop of Shahid Ali. The NIA has also recovered Rs 12 lakhs in Indian currency from Hotel Orange Palace in Chennai.
The suspect arrested following Thursday's searches was identified as Ayyappan Nandhu. He has been found to be managing the drug trade on behalf of Muhammed Asmin, a Sri Lankan refugee and a drug trafficker who had conspired with other accused to revive LTTE through drugs and arms trade.
(With IANS inputs)
