LeT getting easy funds through drug money in J&K

NARCO-TERROR IN J&K: Intelligence agencies claim narcotics are being used by terror outfits to fund operations.

Featured Blog

Rajdeep Sardesai

26/11: Terror comes precariously close

Featured Slideshows

Jammu: Top grade heroin has been seized from suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba men in Doda area of Jammu and Kashmir. The packets marked 'Made in Afghanistan; packaged in Pakistan' are worth nearly Rs 2 crore in the international market.

Security forces claim that this seizure is not a simple case of drug smuggling, but the first evidence of narco-terrorism in the state.

DIG Doda Farooq Khan says, "There is a terrorist angle to this in our opinion. All efforts of LeT to generate money through hawala have failed, which is evident from recent seizures of huge amounts of money. Maybe LeT has resorted to these means for funds."

In nearly two decades of terrorism, apart from opium cultivation in Pulwama and Anantnag, there has been little indication of the use of narcotics for funding terror.

And on the International border too, heroin has been seized though none could be traced to terror outfits.

BSF Additonal Deputy Inspector General, Jammu, JB Sangwan says, "There has been a record production of heroin in Afghanistan last year, which was then sent to Pakistan. From there it came into India. Last year in December, we seized 25 kg heroin and this year too, we have seized four kg in Abdulian. In the last two months, there have been no cases."

Strategic experts say that terror outfits like the LeT are getting easy money from drugs.

Director, Centre for Strategic Studies Jammu University, P Stopdun says, "There is a jehadi council in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and various terror camps. In the aftermath of earthquake of 2005, fundings to terrorists have decreased, so they must now be relying on drug money, which is very easily available in Waziraistan. Certainly, the international funding for LeT is considerable, and reliance on drug money is a logical explanation."

Intelligence agencies say that in the recent past, real estate and narcotics are being used by terror outfits to fund their operations, and if this incident is anything to go by, then the signs of narco-terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir have slowly started showing.