Terrorist, 5 aides held as cops bust cross-border arms racket

Srinagar September 26

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested one Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist and his five associates, including two women and a juvenile, allegedly involved in a cross-border arms racket.

Baramulla SSP Amog Nagpure said the police had arrested an LeT terrorist and five associates in Baramulla and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including grenades and pistols.

“The process of arrests started after two suspects were detained in September in Uri. The five terror associates arrested include two women and a juvenile as well,” Nagpure said. The chain of events leading to this revelation began with the detention of two suspicious individuals in Uri on September 14. Zaid Hassan Malla and Muhammad Arif Channa were caught attempting to evade a police checkpoint. Little did the authorities know that this encounter would unveil a complex network involved in smuggling arms and ammunition across the border.

Upon searching the detained individuals, the police discovered a cache of weapons, including glock pistols, pistol magazines, pistol silencers, Chinese grenades and live pistol rounds. The two men, hailing from Baramulla, confessed that they were part of an arms smuggling operation orchestrated by Pakistan-based terror handlers. Their mission was to facilitate the distribution of weapons to LeT terrorists for carrying out acts of terror.

As the investigation progressed, the police learned of a broader conspiracy. The arrested individuals’ disclosure led to more arrests. The arms supply chain, it seemed, stretched far beyond Baramulla, with tendrils reaching into other regions.

The investigation continued to unravel the network, leading to the arrest of Nigeena and Aafreena, two women associated with the terrorists. Hand grenades were confiscated from their possessions.

Houses of 4 OGWs raided in Jammu, Udhampur

Jammu: Clamping down on terror infrastructure and those helping Pakistani terrorists after they infiltrate into J&K, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) on Tuesday raided four residential premises of over ground workers (OGWs) in Udhampur and Jammu. These workers were allegedly passing on information, including photographs of vital installations, to Pakistan’s ISI and terror outfits by mobile applications and Whatsapp. OC