NIA files 2nd supplementary chargesheet in Mundra Port narcotics seizure case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Monday that the funds generated through the sale of heroin seized from Mundra Port were meant to fuel terrorist activities of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in India.

The agency filed a second supplementary charge sheet against 22 accused, including six Afghan nationals and seven firms, in the 2021 narcotics seizure case in Gujarat. Earlier, the NIA filed a chargesheet against 16 accused on March 14, 2022, and the first supplementary charge sheet was filed against nine others on August 29 last year.

The case pertains to the seizure of about 2,988 kg of heroin at the Mundra Port in Gujarat. The consignment was sent from Afghanistan through Bandar Abbas in Iran. Initially, the case was registered by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s Gandhidham unit in Gujarat. It was re-registered by the NIA on October 6, 2021. The supplementary charge sheet against 22 accused, including prime accused Harpreet Singh Talwar alias “Kabir Talwar”, was filed in the special NIA court, Ahmedabad, in Gujarat under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, said a spokesperson of the NIA.

“During investigation of the case, it was found that there is an organised criminal conspiracy to smuggle illegal consignments of heroin through international trade routes to India from Afghanistan, hatched by the accused,” said the spokesperson. “While investigating forward and backward linkages of the crime, a well-oiled network of operatives involved in the import, facilitation and transport of drug laden consignments has been uncovered. It has also been revealed that consignments were being imported through multiple fake/shell import proprietorship firms floated in India through multiple accused.”

The official said Talwar visited Dubai on multiple occasions and participated in the conspiracy for exploiting the commercial sea-route of import to smuggle heroin into India in commercial quantities.

“He is running multiple trades in New Delhi, like clubs, retail showrooms and import firms. These firms are opened by Talwar in the names of his employees, relatives and friends, which are solely operated by him. These firms were used for importing narcotics, banned items and receiving remittances in form of legitimate goods in lieu of his role in the smuggling cartel,” said the spokesperson.

NIA said more than a dozen such firms have been identified and investigated, including a charge-sheeted firm, Magent India. This company was used to import and receive heroin disguised as semi-processed talc stone from Afghanistan to India, it said.

“During investigation it has emerged that an organised network of syndicate members was being run by foreign-based narcotic traders for importing the heroin laden consignments into Indian ports (Mundra, Kolkata) and its further delivery to various warehouses located at New Delhi,” said the spokesperson.

“The India based network of Afghan nationals was responsible for hiring these warehouses and for processing/extracting and distributing the heroin once it reached New Delhi.” The official said investigation has established that funds generated through the “sale proceeds of heroin were provided to operatives of the Lashkar-e-Taiba for furtherance of terrorist activities in India”.

Besides Talwar, the others named in the second supplementary charge-sheet include Rah Matullah Kakar, Shaheenshah Zaheer, Faridoon Amani alias “Javed Amani”, Abdul Salam Noorzai, Mohammad Hussain Dad and Mohammad Hasan Shah — all residents of Afghanistan.

Other accused named in the charge-sheet are Mohd Iqbal Awan, a resident of north Kashmir’s Uri, who is currently in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir according to the NIA, Prince Sharma, Vityash Koser alias “Raju Dubai” and Jasbir Singh of Delhi, Ishwinder Singh of Haryana, Sushanta Sarkar of West Bengal, and Machavaram Sudhakar and Rajkumar Perumal of Tamil Nadu.

The companies named in the charge sheet are India-based Aashi Trading Co, Jesus Christ Impex, Magent India, V/K Enterprises and Vyom Fashions and Afghanistan-based Hasan Husain Limited, Habib Shahab Talc and Marble Processing Company, said the NIA spokesperson.