ED Cracks a Cross-Border Narco-Terror Network: Major Searches, Seizures and Financial Trail Exposed in J&K, Punjab

 SRINAGAR: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has intensified its crackdown on narco‑terror financing with a sweeping set of search operations across Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab, including sensitive locations near the Line of Control (LoC).

On Thursday, the ED’s Jammu Sub‑Zonal Office conducted searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, spanning nine premises and stemming from cases registered by both the J&K Police and Punjab Police.

A statement issued in Jammu on Friday said the investigation has uncovered a well‑structured, multi‑layered narco‑terror network operating between Punjab and J&K. According to it, the syndicate involved Punjab‑based handlers—Satnam Singh and Manjit Singh alias Maan—working in close coordination with Kupwara‑based operatives Safeer Ahmed and Kafeel (Kateel) Ahmed, who facilitated heroin smuggling from across the border.

The ED’s findings indicate that heroin consignments were pushed into India through Pakistan‑based handlers linked to proscribed Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. These handlers coordinated with Kashmir‑based operatives to smuggle heroin through the Amrohi border and LoC‑adjoining areas, it said. It added that in one documented instance, 35 packets of heroin were retrieved; five were retained locally, while 30 packets were concealed inside a truck tyre and transported to Srinagar.

The Srinagar delivery was made to Punjab‑based carriers Sarabjeet Singh and Honey Baara, who were later intercepted at Banthal along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH44) in September 2023 with 30 packets weighing approximately 31 kilograms. The Punjab‑side network, led by Satnam Singh and Manjit Singh, relied on forged documents, fake vehicle papers, concealed cavities, multiple vehicles and cash‑based logistics to move heroin across states.

The ED has identified multiple other instances of heroin transportation from Kashmir to Punjab, cumulatively exceeding 60 kg, facilitated through an organised chain of carriers and transporters. The proceeds generated from these narcotics consignments were allegedly diverted to fund terror activities, underscoring the grave national security implications of the case.

During Thursday’s searches, the ED seized incriminating documents, bank account records and digital evidence crucial to the investigation. The agency also froze several bank accounts holding approximately ₹49.9 lakh, believed to be directly linked to the proceeds of crime. Financial scrutiny has revealed suspicious transactions, including high‑value cash deposits in the accounts of Manjit Singh and Sarabjeet Singh, further strengthening the money‑laundering trail.

Officials emphasised that the searches—particularly in LoC‑adjacent areas—were strategically aimed at dismantling source‑side logistics and local facilitators embedded within the cross‑border narcotics supply chain. The ED reiterated that the heroin proceeds were systematically channelled into terror financing, making this network one of the most significant narco‑terror modules uncovered in recent years.

With substantial evidence now in hand, the ED has confirmed that further investigation is underway to trace additional operatives, financial conduits and cross‑border links involved in the illicit network.

Police sources here added that a significant share of cross‑border consignments is now being flown into J&K and Punjab using drones, a method increasingly favoured by smuggling networks. They added that security agencies have intercepted several of these drone drops in time, recovering the payloads before they could be collected by the intended recipients.