Daesh money trail traced in Pakistan

KARACHI: The investigators have busted a suspected network of militants and businessmen and traced a ‘money trail’ involving over 50 bank accounts being used to finance the outlawed Daesh in Afghanistan, The News has learnt on Wednesday.

Earlier, in September the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) of the Karachi police had busted a kidnapping syndicate run by Daesh and arrested three suspected terrorists, namely Mukhtiar, Naeem and Noorullah in raids at Karachi’s Scheme-33 and Sakran in Lasbela district.

The Daesh terrorists had kidnapped a young man from from Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar and called his brother to demand Rs 10 million ransom from an Afghan cell number. Later, the kidnappers released the youngster on payment of the ransom money.

Talking to The News, SSP Bahadur said the funds from kidnapping the youth in Gulistan-e-Jauhar were to be used to finance terrorism in Pakistan but luckily, they were arrested before they could strike.

About the money trail for terror financing, SSP Bahadur said the investigators have so far detected over 50 bank accounts used to despatch money to the Daesh terrorists in Afghanistan from Pakistan.

He said the investigators have also arrested two cloth traders from Karachi and Quetta for transferring funds through ‘Hawala Hundi’ to the Daesh network in Afghanistan. The AVCC chief Irfan Bahadur said “this is a major case and the apprehensions have given us a breakthrough in unearthing and tracing a money trail used to finance terror in Pakistan.”

He said the recent terrorist bombings in the Mastung, Quetta and other parts of the country were carried out due to the funds generated by criminal proceeds of kidnapping for ransom and extortion. Several Daesh militants were killed and arrested by the police but it is for the first time that the investigators have traced the money trail.

“The Daesh militants are generating funds from Pakistan including Karachi and their supporters, including some businessmen are helping them transfer money to other countries including Afghanistan,” Irfan said. Similarly, the Police have also traced at least four more cases of kidnapping for ransom by Daesh terrorists in Karachi.

Following the arrests of the Daesh terrorists, the Sindh home department constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) was formed to trace the nexus between Daesh terrorists, their supporters and the money trail.

The JIT includes representatives of Inter Service Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Rangers, Sindh police’s Counter-Terrorism Department, AVCC, Federal Investigation Agency, the representatives of the State Bank of Pakistan and the Security Exchange Commission. A “pre-session of the JIT was held while the JIT will hold its first official session today at the Central Jail, Karachi,” confirmed AVCC chief SSP Irfan Bahadur.