ED searched nearly 40 locations across four states and seized approximately Rs 3 crore in cash, jewellery, land-deal documents and papers related to immovable asset purchases from Borivali village in Padgha, as investigators probe hawala links to the ISIS terror module.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), backed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), on Thursday launched a coordinated state-wide and inter-state crackdown, conducted searches at nearly 40 locations across Maharashtra, Delhi, Kolkata, and Uttar Pradesh in a probe into suspected terror-financing networks, officials said.
During the operation, the ED seized approximately Rs 3 crore in cash, jewellery that is currently under valuation, multiple land-deal–related documents, and several other incriminating Documents.
The operation zeroed in on Borivali village in Padgha, Thane district, an area flagged by central agencies as the nerve centre of an ISIS-inspired module allegedly linked to the late Saquib Nachan,a former office-bearer of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Nachan, who died in June this year in a Delhi hospital following a brain haemorrhage, had been identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as the alleged “Ameer-e-Hind,” head of ISIS operations in India. Investigators believe his ideological influence continues through his operatives and sympathisers even after his death.
ED teams also conducted searches in Ratnagiri and several other locations across Maharashtra and beyond as part of a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) investigation into alleged terror financing. The operation stems from NIA case RC-29/2023/NIA/DLI, in which Nachan was named a principal accused. Several others, including his family members, close associates, and sympathisers of the ISIS Delhi–Padgha terror module, all hailing from the Padgha-Borivali belt, are alleged to have been part of a highly radicalised ISIS-linked network involved in recruitment, training, procurement of weapons and explosives, and raising funds to sustain terror operations across multiple states.
Investigators are scrutinising banking records, digital footprints, and alleged cash transfers believed to have facilitated financial support to individuals or entities associated with extremist organisations.
Beginning in the pre-dawn hours, Thursday’s raids swept through multiple residential premises in Padgha and other targeted locations. The operation focused on individuals earlier flagged under the ATS Graded Response Protocol for their alleged involvement in Khairwood and cattle-smuggling activities. The agency suspects that proceeds generated from these illegal trades were diverted to fund extremist activities.
In June, shortly after Nachan’s death, the ATS and Thane Rural Police had searched 22 premises linked to Nachan’s family members and other suspected operatives at Borivali in Padgha.Officials seized 19 mobile phones and several incriminating documents allegedly connected to radicalisation efforts.Investigations revealed clandestine networks engaged in the cutting, smuggling, and sale of Khairwood,with the proceeds reportedly routed through an extensive hawala network to fund extremist operations.
Following that action, the ATS submitted a detailed dossier to the ED outlining financial red flags, including suspicious cash movements, unexplained assets and possible benami holdings, prompting a deeper investigation into the module’s money trail. On Thursday’s operation, ATS personnel provided on-ground support to coordinate the ED searches.
Officials said the module’s shadow economy was largely sustained through Khairwood smuggling and cattle trafficking, both identified as highly profitable criminal rackets in the region. Khairwood, a high-value timber used in gutka production and chemical extraction industries, is illegally felled in forest zones and transported through discreet routes to evade enforcement checks. The clandestine cutting, transport, and sale of the timber generates large volumes of unaccounted cash, making it an effective channel for covert financing.Parallelly, the suspects were reportedly operating a cattle-smuggling corridor across district and state boundaries, ensuring a steady flow of unregulated cash.
According to the sources proceeds from these illegal trades were allegedly routed through a hawala network, enabling transfers across states and ultimately feeding into the module’s terror-financing pool, masking extremist funding behind routine smuggling operations.
During the operation, the ED also carried out searches at premises linked to late Saquib Nachan, his family members and accused associates. Officials said the agency seized several land-deal and property-purchase documents, along with transaction records. Cash and jewellery were also recovered from these locations, they added.
