Officials reveal how they busted gun racket
A systematic shadowing and sourcing information for weeks together by intelligence sleuths led to the interception and breaking of an illegal supply chain of guns and counterfeit notes to the city on early Friday morning. What Veppery police team did by nabbing the duo with guns was only the last part of a long operation carried out by the state police.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-01-28 21:10 GMT
Chennai
A team of special division CID sleuths who was monitoring the activities of jailed Mohamed Rafeeq arrested by NIA, for extending logistic support to Pakistan’s ISI agent Zakir Husaain with fake currency in the year 2014, found that J Pradeep of Perambur was in touch with him, highly-placed sources said.
The intelligence team also collected information that Pradeep frequently visited Malda district in West Bengal, from where they had been bringing guns and counterfeit currencies for distribution in the city. Pradeep had established contacts with Rafeeq, when he was arrested and jailed for chain snatching.
Based on information about Pradeep and his associate K Kamal’s latest trip, two intelligence sleuths got into the train in Vijayawada (AP) with pictures of the two. The suspects were traveling to Chennai after procuring contrabands, in an air-conditioned compartment A1, with seat number 24 and 40. The sleuths managed to get into the nearby B1 coach and started traveling in the same train from 2 am on January 26.
Sensing that the officers were behind them, suspects tried to escape by jumping from the train after stopping by pulling the emergency chain when the train reached Thiruvottriyur station at 9.10 am on Friday. After Pradeep and Kamal got into an autorickshaw, sleuths too followed them in another auto from Thiruvottriyur railway station.
The sleuths, after following the suspects for a long time, intercepted their vehicle near Garden City Hotel on Veppery High Road. After a scuffle, the police team overpowered the two and later handed them over to the police team, headed by Veppery police station inspector Veerakumar. The police team later found the two were carrying five pistols, bullets and counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 4 lakh. Police noted that the suspect was guided by Rafeeq in their journey to Malda to get guns and fake Indian notes.
“Rafeeq is an important man in the network as he has contacts in Bangladesh. He is behind smuggling of Pakistan made Indian currency (called ganimat) for Jihadi activities. Police believe that Rafeeq has links with Khaja Moideen, the TN state commander of Islamic State, in prison and actively used the counterfeit notes smuggled through his contacts for Jihad funding,” sources said.
JIHAD ANGLE TO FAKE NOTES
- Rafeeq, a resident of Vysarpadi, now lodged in Puzhal jail, remains as the contact for smuggling in Pak printed counterfeit Indian currency.
- Pradeep and Kamal have visited Malda three times before and brought fake notes and five guns.
- During the latest trip, they bought five guns for Rs 1.5 lakh and fake notes with face vaule of Rs 4 lakh paying genuine Indian currency worth Rs 1 lakh.
- Police suspect that pushing counterfeit currency into the city is part of Jihad activities, in which Rafeeq is believed to be involved.
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