The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two Mumbai-based alleged members of the outlawed Dawood Ibrahim gang. The two have been identified as Arif Abubakar Shaikh and Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh.
The NIA registered the case in February taking suo motu cognisance. It alleged that the two were involved in illegal activities of ‘D-Company’ and terror financing in the western suburbs of Mumbai.
They are close associates of Chhota Shakeel, who operates an international criminal syndicate from Pakistan and is involved in extortions, narcotics smuggling and terrorist activities in India, said the agency.
The case pertains to the activities of the international terror network of “D-Company involving Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his associates including Haji Anees aka Anees Ibrahim Shaikh, Chhota Shakeel, Javed Chikna and Tiger Memon”.
The syndicate is into arms smuggling, narco-terrorism, money laundering and circulation of fake currency. Its members “are in unauthorised possession or are involved in acquisition of key assets for raising terror funds and working in active collaboration with international terrorist organisations, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Al-Qaeda”.
Raids on 20 locations
On May 9, the NIA had conducted raids on 20 locations in Mumbai connected with Ibrahim and his close associates. The agency detained Salim Qureshi aka Salim Fruit, an associate of detained gangster Shakeel. As per a statement by the NIA, “Several hawala operators and drug peddlers were associated with Ibrahim and the NIA had registered [a case] in this regard in February."
This is the same case under which Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik was arrested and is currently in jail. The NIA had registered an FIR on February 3, 2022 under criminal conspiracy and Sections 17 (punishment for raising funds for terrorist acts), 18 (punishment for conspiracy), 20 (punishment for being member of terrorist gang or organisation), 21 (punishment for holding proceeds of crime), 38 (offences relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 40 (offences of raising fund for a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The FIR named Ibrahim, Anees, Shakeel, Chikna and Menon. It mentions that Ibrahim left India and started controlling his criminal activities in India through his sister Haseena Parkar and others.
