Sri Lankan and Indian law enforcement agencies are investigating four suspects with alleged ISIS links who were arrested in Ahmedabad, India, by the Gujarat Police on May 20. Local police investigations are underway to uncover background information and potential local connections to the suspects, driven by concerns regarding Sri Lanka’s national security.
The local investigations are being carried out by a team from the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), led by two Superintendents of Police (SPs). They are receiving support from the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat, India, as well as Sri Lanka’s Intelligence services.
According to investigations, the suspects arrested in India, believed to have arrived to launch an attack there, were allegedly heavily addicted to ICE, marking the first instance of revelations of ISIS terrorists being drug users. Investigators have also not uncovered any information indicating fundamentalist beliefs among the four persons. Additionally, it has been reported that all four of them had experienced broken marriages.
Indian law enforcement claimed the four were being handled by a ISIS Chief identified as Abu, who also provided all support and facilities needed for the four to enter India.
Three of the four suspects have been identified as residents of Colombo, while the fourth, Mohamed Nushran, allegedly hails from Periyamulla, Negombo. According to officials, Nushran, born on January 8, 1991, had visited India approximately 40 times. During these visits, he allegedly engaged in gold and Ice smuggling, and also facilitated the illegal sale of mobile phones in Sri Lanka.
Investigators have also revealed that Nushran was arrested by the Police in 2023 for the possession of Ice and the case continues to be heard in Courts. He is also accused of distributing ICE in Colombo and Negombo. Police have said Nushran had married several times and is a father of five children.
According to investigators, Nushran is believed to be the leader of the arrested suspects. However, when questioned, his family denied any knowledge of his alleged links to ISIS, stating that he had informed them he was visiting India with some friends.
Son of ‘Potta Nowfer’
Interestingly another suspect now in Indian custody, is the son of infamous Sri Lankan underworld figure Mohamed Niyaz Nowfer alias ‘Potta Nowfer’ who was jailed for his role in the killing of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya. Identified as Mohamed Nafran Nowfer and born on 12 July 1997, Indian Police have claimed he has visited India at least 38 times and is addicted to ICE as well. He is accused of engaging in smuggling while posing as a businessman.
The Police said the other two, identified as Mohamed Raasdeeen Abdul Raseem and Mohamed Faris Mohamed Farook, also addicted to Ice, visited India for the first time and both were working as porters (nattamis) in Colombo. A close confidante of the two, Abdul Hameed Amir from Maligawatta, where Faris hails from, has also been arrested by the Police for questioning.
While the Police searched the houses of Faris and Amir on 21 May, they had failed to find anything significant or suspicious. However, the Police said they believe Amir was the local handler of the four.
Authorities are currently on the lookout for a suspect from Borella, suspected to be connected to Amri and his activities. Police have identified the wanted person as an Island Reconvicted Criminal (IRC), with previous convictions for crimes such as robberies and illegal possession of arms. Investigators believe that apprehending him could yield crucial information for their case. Searches of the houses of other suspects have also yielded no results yet.
Rs. 400,000 payment
Indian authorities claimed the four had connected with Abu over social media in February and were preparing to launch an attack in India. According to the Indian Police each suspect had been paid Rs. 400,000 to launch the attack.
The four had taken an Indigo flight out of Sri Lanka on May 19, arriving in Chennai and then onwards to Ahmedabad where they were arrested based on information received by the Gujarati ATS. However their exact target remains elusive but the Police believe they were targeting Christians, Jews, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
According to Gujarat Police Director General Vikas Sahay the four are believed to be connected to Sri Lanka’s National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) which was at one time led by Easter Sunday attacker Zahran Hashim and remains banned in Sri Lanka.
Giving details of the operation to arrest the four ISIS terrorists, police said multiple teams were formed after the officials received the information that the suspects were planning to travel to Ahmedabad to carry out terror attacks in India. Sahay said the arrests were made after checking the list of passengers coming from the Southern region and getting their identities confirmed by officials in Colombo.
Sahay claimed the police have also discovered arms hidden by the group which included Pakistani manufactured pistols and bullets. Police said after scanning their mobile phones, they found photographs of some weapons and location data of Nanachiloda near Ahmedabad. “The ATS later recovered three Pakistani pistols and 20 cartridges, as indicated in the photographs, from the Nanachiloda area,” officials said. They were also communicating with the ISIS leaders through Proton Mail, an end-to-end encrypted email service, officials said. “Evidence showing their commitment to join ISIS and follow the path shown by former ISIS Chief Abu Bakr Baghdadi,” they said.
Security tightened
As of now, no concrete facts or evidence have emerged to suggest that these four individuals travelled to India for a suicide attack. However, the discovery of firearms indicates a preparation conducive to criminal activities such as shooting. While the specific target remains undisclosed, both the Gujarat ATS and Sri Lanka’s Counter-Terrorism and Investigation Divisions are diligently working to identify the target and uncover details about the network involved.
The Ahmedabad airport on May 12 received a bomb threat email which turned out to be a hoax after security personnel searched the airport complex, but nothing suspicious was found. However, the security at all international airports in India has been tightened following the arrest of the four ISIS suspects.
