NIA conducts raids in Chennai in connection with LTTE revival
- In Reports
- 10:38 PM, Apr 07, 2023
- Myind Staff
A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Kochi raided shops in North Chennai on Thursday in connection with the case of revival of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organisation via drug smuggling and arms trafficking.
The NIA team started off by conducting a raid on a shop belonging to Muhammad Ilyaz in Burma Bazaar on Thursday evening, based on a tip-off. After a five-hour raid, the NIA team retrieved Rs 69 lakh unaccounted cash.
Thereafter, the probe agency raided the Ilyaz’s residence and recovered 10 kg ganja, 300-gram gold, and 1,000 Singapore dollars. The NIA team later arrested Ilyaz on the basis of the recovery.
Earlier in December 2022, the NIA arrested nine persons from the special camp for Sri Lankan refugees in Tiruchirapalli.
All of them were allegedly hand in glove with Haji Salim, a Pakistan based drug-runner and believed to be connected to the March 2021 incident, near Kerala's Vizhinjam port, in which Indian defence forces had intercepted a boat containing 300 kilograms of heroin, five AK-47 assault rifles, along with 1000 rounds of 9mm bullets.
Those arrested included C Gunashekharan alias Guna and Pushparajah alias Pookutti Kanna. They were working in close association with Haji Salim, a drug and arms supplier based in Pakistan, a spokesperson of the central probe agency said.
Besides Gunashekharan and Pushparajah, the others arrested were Mohammad Asmin, Sunil Ghamini, Stanly Kennady Fernando, Ladiya Chandrasena, Dhanukka Roshan, Vella Suranka alias Gamage Suranga and Thilipan alias Dileepan, the spokesperson said, adding that they were members of a drug cartel controlled by Gunashekharan and Pushparajah in association with Salim. It was operating in India and Sri Lanka for the "revival of the LTTE."
Image courtesy: Representative image
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