Chennai: NIA Arrests Man Over Alleged Attempt To Revive LTTE, Seizes Cash, Drugs
LTTE racket in Chennai: NIA started the investigation into the racket in July 2022 and has made 14 arrests as of Thursday.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a man identified as Ayyappan Nandhu, who was helping a SL refugee to manage his drug trade for the revival of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant organisation in Sri Lanka, after raids at multiple places belonging to the suspects in the Chennai on Thursday.
In a crackdown on Indo-Sri Lankan illegal drugs and arms trade racket on Thursday, the NIA also seized gold bars, cash, memory cards, drugs, mobile phones and other documents, as per IANS.
In July 2022, NIA started the investigation into the racket and till now has made 14 arrests as of Thursday.
During the raids on Thursday, the NIA arrested Ayyappan Nandhu who managed the drug trade for a Sri Lankan refugee Muhammed Asmin.
Asmin was the one who worked towards reviving LTTE through the sale of drugs and arms.
Investigations into the case revealed that the proceeds of drugs and arms trade in Sri Lanka were received in India through hawala agents, including one Shahid Ali of Chennai, said NIA, as per ANI.
It was further found that the hawala transactions were done through hotels and businesses based in Mannadi, Chennai.
On Thursday, the NIA recovered Rs 68 lakh in Indian currency, 1000 Singapore dollars and nine gold biscuits from Shahid Ali's shop.
They also recovered Rs 12 lakh in Indian Currency from a hotel Orange Palace in Chennai.
Earlier, NIA arrested 13 accused during raids across Tamil Nadu in December 2022. The raids were also conducted in Special Detention Camp in Trichy.
In 2021, NIA launched a probe after the seizure of 300 kg of heroin and 1000 live rounds of 9mm ammunition near Vizhinjam coast. The NIA suspected that the arms and drugs were aimed at reviving the LTTE group once again in the island nation.
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