Jammu, Nov 6: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out extensive searches at several locations across Jammu and Kashmir, including the premises of former minister Babu Singh, in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation linked to a narco-terror network. According to official sources, six locations in Srinagar and two in Jammu were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case originates from a 2022 investigation initiated by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, when officials apprehended a man named Mohammad Shareef Shah. Shah was caught while attempting to deliver Rs 6.9 lakh in hawala money from Kashmir to Jammu, reportedly meant for Babu Singh. Investigators believe that this money was intended to finance separatist and subversive groups operating in Jammu.
During the course of the probe, the agencies unearthed an elaborate network allegedly linking several individuals, including Saif Din, Farooq Ahmed Naikoo, and Mubashir Mushtaq Fafoo, to a Pakistan-based narco-terror module. The network was reportedly engaged in smuggling heroin from Pakistan into India during 2021 and 2022. The illicit proceeds, estimated at over Rs 2 crore, were deposited in local bank accounts in Srinagar before being transferred to other accounts to disguise their origin.
Investigations further revealed that the money was routed through Indian nationals working in Dubai, who acted as carriers or “mules” to obscure the trail of funds. Once collected abroad, the proceeds were allegedly funneled to Hizbul Mujahideen operatives operating from Pakistan, the ED sources said. The agency is now working to identify the entire chain of operatives and their financial handlers who facilitated the cross-border flow of illicit funds.
Earlier, the Special Investigation Agency (SIA) had filed a chargesheet against 12 accused, including Babu Singh, in connection with the hawala money case. Subsequent investigations have expanded the probe to cover the broader narco-terror network that allegedly linked Singh and others to cross-border funding channels.
Babu Singh was arrested in April 2022 after his associate, Mohammad Shareef Shah, was caught carrying hawala money in Jammu. In 2024, the SIA apprehended two more suspects, including a police constable and a former sarpanch, bringing the total number of accused to 17. The constable, identified as Saif-ud-din from Jammu, and former sarpanch Farooq Ahmad Jungal of Uri, Baramulla district, were believed to be part of the same syndicate.
Officials added that earlier this year, the SIA had conducted a raid at the residence of a policeman and a sarpanch in Jammu’s Belicharana area. During the operation, several electronic gadgets and incriminating documents were seized, further linking the accused to the terror funding case.