In a major success, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday busted a Pakistan sponsored narco-terrorism module in Kashmir and seized 21 kg of high-quality heroin and hard cash amounting to Rs1.34 crore. Three operatives of Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) terrorist outfit have been arrested in this connection in the Handwara district near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir.

The Police said that the market value of the seized heroin was Rs100 crore.

The module was on the radar of the police for the past two weeks after inputs about their anti-national activities were received. They were involved in peddling drugs and raising funds for terror activities by transferring funds through hawala channels.

All arrested terror operatives were in contact with Pakistan based terrorist groups and were assisting their activities in Kashmir. The prime operative has been identified as Iftikar Andrabi and the other two as Momin Peer and Iqbal-ul-Islam and more arrests are expected in the near future. A cash counting machine was also recovered from their possession, Police said.

The module was in close contact with Pakistan based terror handlers and was engaged in financing terrorists through the sale of drugs.

A police spokesman said that recoveries made from the arrested persons indicate the nexus between drug peddlers and terrorists. These operatives were also engaged in motivating the Kashmiri youth to join terrorism.

A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to interrogate the arrested persons and trace their contacts in J&K and elsewhere in the country. The SIT has been tasked to unearth the nexus between these operatives and terror outfits, radicals, smugglers and anti-national elements, said the Police.

In another incident, the security forces apprehended a youth from an encounter spot at Pathanpora in Budgam and recovered a Chinese pistol, one grenade, 6 AK magazines and 147 bullets.

It is worth mentioning that the Kashmiri terrorists have established contacts with drug smugglers in Punjab and other places to which they supply narcotics after smuggling from Pakistan. A Kashmiri terrorist and two drug peddlers were recently arrested in Amritsar.

Meanwhile, the J&K DGP Dilbag Singh has asked police personnel to be more watchful and alert towards elements inimical to peace and desperate to disrupt law and order.

He said terrorism must end and people of J&K should benefit from dividends of peace. Terrorism has brought endless pain and destruction to people of J&K.