New Delhi [India], November 6 (ANI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted search operations at six locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with a narco-terror funding case, officials said.

The raids are underway at two premises in Jammu and four in the Kashmir region, including the residential property of former minister and ex-MLA Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh in Kathua.

ED's Jammu sub-zonal office has been conducting searches since early Thursday in the case that stems from the arrest of one Mohd Shareef Shah by police on March 30, 2022, while he was attempting to deliver Rs 6.9 lakh in hawala money from Kashmir to Jammu for Jatinder Singh, said the officials, privy to the development.

'The funds were allegedly meant to support separatist and secessionist groups in Jammu to carry out subversive activities,' the officials stated.

Subsequent investigations, the officials said, revealed a wider network involving several accused, including Saif Din, Farooq Ahmad Naikoo, and Mubashir Mushtaq Fafoo, who were allegedly part of a cross-border narco-terror module operated by Pakistan-based handlers.

'The network reportedly used drug trafficking proceeds to fund terrorist activities in India.'

An analysis of financial records indicated that accused Farooq Ahmad Naikoo had orchestrated a narco-terror funding racket in which heroin smuggled from Pakistan was sold in India during 2021-22, the officials pointed.

The proceeds amounting to 'over Rs 2 crore were deposited into local bank accounts in Srinagar and later transferred to accounts of Indian nationals working in Dubai, who acted as mule endpoints to obscure the money's origin.'

Officials said the laundered funds, 'withdrawn and accumulated in Dubai, were further routed to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen operatives based in Pakistan.'

ED's investigation is underway to trace the remaining money trail and identify other individuals connected with the narco-terror network. (ANI)