SIA Kashmir in handout claimed has achieved a significant breakthrough in its campaign against the narco-terror ecosystem in Jammu & Kashmir with the arrest of an absconding operative who had been on the run for nearly four years. The State Investigation Agency (SIA) Kashmir arrested Manoj Kumar Bhat, son of P.K. Bhat and resident of Rehari Colony, Bakshi Nagar, Jammu, in a special operation conducted in Jammu.
Bhat is wanted in connection with FIR No. 13/2022 of SIA Kashmir, registered on 3 June 2022. The case centers on the smuggling of narcotics from across the Line of Control (LoC) and the alleged diversion of proceeds from their sale to finance terrorist activities. Investigators describe the operation as part of a wider narco-terror conspiracy allegedly backed by Pakistan/PoK-based operatives of the terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
According to the agency, the investigation has exposed a clear pattern in which narcotics are trafficked into J&K from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), distributed through established local networks, and the money generated is channeled into sustaining the terrorist ecosystem. Bhat is alleged to have facilitated the sale and distribution of narcotics in the Jammu division, thereby feeding the financial pipeline of this larger network.
The probe has established linkages with Pakistan/PoK-based terrorist handlers, including Imtiyaz Ahmad Kandoo @ Kandoo (son of Ab. Khaliq Kandoo, resident of Kralteng, Sopore) and Manzoor Ahmad Khan (son of Late Ab. Majeed Khan, resident of Braman Panzala, Baramulla). These individuals are accused of arranging and facilitating the trafficking of narcotics from PoK, which were then collected, distributed and sold inside J&K.
Bhat had been absconding since the registration of the case nearly four years earlier. His arrest followed sustained technical surveillance, human intelligence and coordinated investigative efforts by SIA Kashmir. Earlier recoveries linked to the case include 1 kg of heroin seized from Zeeshan Ahmad Sofi and Waseem Ahmad Khan at Nowpora, Sopore; subsequent recovery of 7 kg of poppy straw and 4 kg of poppy seeds; and 15 grams of heroin recovered from Bhat’s residential premises. A motorcycle and electronic gadgets have also been seized and are under forensic examination.
SIA Kashmir has already filed multiple charge-sheets against several accused, including Zeeshan Ahmad Sofi, Waseem Ahmad Khan, Bashir Ahmad Koli, Mohammad Ashraf Lone, Mohammad Saleem Khan and Zafraan Khan. The investigation continues to map a broader network associated with Hizbul Mujahideen and its Pakistan/PoK-based handlers.
In a related development, SIA Kashmir has secured an Interpol Red Corner Notice against Imtiyaz Ahmad Kandoo in a separate terror-related case, underscoring the agency’s pursuit of Pakistan-based handlers involved in directing and financing terrorist activities in J&K.
The arrest is expected to help investigators uncover further layers of the conspiracy, identify additional linkages, trace the financial trail, and establish the complete chain connecting cross-LoC narcotics trafficking with terror financing.
SIA Kashmir has reiterated its resolve to dismantle the entire support structure—from the trafficking of narcotics across the LoC to the local distribution networks and the diversion of proceeds that sustain terrorism—until the full network is brought to justice. The investigation remains ongoing.
