Assam Police Uncover Multi-State Terror Finance Operation, 5 People Arrested

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Law enforcement in Assam has dismantled an alleged cross-border militancy financing ring, detaining five suspects, including a prominent student group official locally and an operative in Maharashtra, authorities confirmed Sunday.

Investigators are currently working to determine the precise objectives driving this extortion machinery and identify the specific militant outfit receiving the gathered finances.

What police said

Speaking at a joint media briefing, Tinsukia's Additional Superintendent of Police Mrinmoy Das and Crime Branch official Dinesh Pratap Singh Rathore revealed that a federal intelligence bureau tipped them off about extorted capital from Tinsukia being routed out of the Northeast.

Also Read | UP Anti-Terror Squad arrests two linked to Pakistan-based ISI

As the probe unfolded, a digital news portal reporter named Debashish Gohain was identified and subsequently taken into custody.

Officials stated that during questioning, Gohain disclosed that significant financial volumes had been remitted to a Maharashtra inhabitant identified as Sheikh Wasim.

Wasim, who frequently journeyed to northeastern states previously, was apprehended in his home state by Tinsukia police officials collaborating with Maharashtra law enforcement. He faces extradition to Assam for intense interrogation.

Following subsequent leads, police also detained Deepu Chetia Patra from Jorhat, Mrityunjay Konwar from Dibrugarh's Naharkatia area, and Samar Jyoti Gohain, a Tinsukia-based student union activist.

The police said the group collaborated to amass and siphon capital beyond state borders, prompting suspicions regarding insurgent affiliations.

"Only after detailed interrogation of all the accused, the exact motive behind the alleged funding network and the organisation for which the funds were being collected will become clear," the two officers said.

The suspects face charges spanning various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act under Tinsukia Police Station case files 98/2026 and 110/2026.

Gujarat CID busts crypto-terror funding network

The Gujarat CID Crime division has dismantled a global cryptocurrency operation totaling ₹226 crore, linking a fugitive suspect to a shell entity operated by the militant group Hamas, authorities said on May 19.

Law enforcement officials have detained nine individuals tied to the network, comprising seven residents of Ahmedabad alongside single suspects from Mumbai and Karnal, Haryana.

Data from the CID Crime's Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCoE) indicated that the ring's Binance profiles were tied to 935 digital fraud investigations. Furthermore, the infrastructure demonstrated clear connections to international narcotics trafficking, the dark web, and militant financing.

"The technical unit of the CCoE uncovered this sophisticated network by analysing cryptocurrency wallets and transactions. The investigation revealed that the syndicate was operating on the dark web for narcotics distribution, money laundering, and financing designated international terrorist organisations," it stated in a statement.

According to CCoE investigators, the syndicates were explicitly tied to militant financing networks. Notably, the digital wallet belonging to Dubai-based ringleader Mohammed Zuber Popatiya-a fugitive in this investigation-was blocked in 2025 by Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF).

Popatiya maintained active financial channels with the 'Dubai Company for Exchange', a proxy business utilized by Hamas, authorities stated.

Also Read | Who is Mohammad Baqer Al-Saadi, Kata'ib Hizballah commander arrested by US

Information obtained through the interrogation of Mohsin Molani, who was apprehended in Ahmedabad, additionally unmasked a major drug distribution network active in the United Kingdom since 2023.

Molani communicated with Popatiya regarding UK narcotics distribution and coordinated logistics with Salman Gulamali Ansari. Ansari received a six-year prison sentence in October 2024 and currently directs the illicit narcotics trade from a British correctional facility.

The CCoE concluded that Ansari and Popatiya orchestrated this interconnected militant-funding and Monero-shielded transaction architecture.

MENAFN24052026007365015876ID1111161787