New Delhi, Oct 2 (Inditop.com) A 32-year-old man, said to be a drug peddler with links to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) against whom a red corner notice issue is pending, has been arrested here, the police said Friday.
The Special Operation Squad (SOS) of Delhi Police’s Crime Branch arrested Sabir Ali from east Delhi’s Welcome Metro station Thursday afternoon. He was staying in Lahore on a tourist visa for the past two years and belongs to Kandhla Mujaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, Sabir Ali’s name surfaced after customs officials posted at the Attari border checkpost apprehended two passengers – Sadeeqan and Akhtar Abbas – off Samjhauta Express Jan 26 and seized over 14 kg of heroin from them.
Police later also arrested a Delhi resident identified as Riazul Kabul, who was staying in south Delhi and ran a shop in Meena Bazar in Jama Masjid.
“It was revealed that the supplier of seized contraband was Sabir Ali. He was operating from Lahore. He could not be arrested despite best efforts of the customs department and finally a red corner notice was issued against him,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sanjay Tyagi.
The police officer said Ali in his interrogation revealed that he visited Pakistan for the first time when he was 15 as one of his sisters was married there. He entered India via Nepal and was trying to strengthen his network in Delhi and other parts of the country.
“His father Noor Mohammad was also found involved in smuggling goods between India and Pakistan. During his stay with his father in Lahore, Ali came in contact with a suspected ISI agent, Aslam Katora. On his direction, he started smuggling heroin from Pakistan via Samjhauta Express through passengers,” Tyagi said.
Katora was jailed in Rajasthan 10-15 years ago and was deported back to Pakistan in 2002.
Tyagi said investigations were under way to know about Ali’s network and his links with the ISI.
