The NIA on Wednesday arrested alleged “narco-terrorist” Iqbal Singh alias Shera soon after his extradition to India from Portugal following sustained diplomatic and legal efforts.
The agency alleged that Shera was the mastermind in the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) terror-financing case. He was taken into custody by an NIA team at Delhi airport on his arrival from Portugal, to where he had fled in 2020.
“His successful extradition and arrest come as a major shot in the arm for the NIA’s fight against Pakistan-backed narco and cross-border terrorism,” the agency said.
The NIA probe revealed that Shera, a native of Amritsar in Punjab, had masterminded the conspiracy involving the smuggling of narcotics from Pakistan into the border state. He had coordinated and overseen the trafficking and distribution of the drugs, and channelised the proceeds through hawala networks to Pakistan and Kashmir-based operatives of HM to facilitate terror activities, the agency said.
To carry forward the anti-India narco terror conspiracy, Shera had allegedly formed a terror gang and operated a Punjab-based network of associates engaged in the trafficking of large quantities of heroin, collection of sale proceeds, and transfer of funds to handlers and terror operatives. He had also maintained close links with Pakistan-based HM terror operatives.
The case was originally registered by the Punjab police following the arrest of an HM overground worker, identified as Hilal Ahmed Shergojri.
The police had also recovered ₹29 lakh of alleged drug proceeds from the possession Hilal, a close aide of the deceased terrorist commander Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo.
Further probe had led to the recovery of another ₹32 lakh from Punjab-based members of the terror gang.