Mumbai: Nabbed Chhota Shakeel's aides handled terror financing in western suburbs, NIA claims

Arif Abubakar Shaikh and Shabbir Abubakar Shaikh-- close associates of D-Company's high-ranking leader Shakeel Shaikh alias Chhota Shakeel, were indulging in "terror financing" in the western suburbs of Mumbai, National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Friday.

The NIA, which arrested both Arif and Shabbir in Maharashtra on Thursday in the case against D-Company, said the accused were also involved in "illegal activities of D-Company".

The Mumbai-based associates of the outlawed D-Company-- a criminal group based in South Asia-- are learnt to be very close to Chhota Shakeel, who operates an international criminal syndicate from Pakistan and is involved in extortions, narcotics smuggling and violent terrorist activities in India.

The case pertains to terror and criminal activities of the international terrorist network of D-Company involving Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his associates including Haji Anees alias Anees Ibrahim Shaikh, Chhota Shakeel, Javed Patel alias Javed Chikna and Ibrahim Mushtaq Abdul Razzaq Memon alias Tiger Memon.

NIA said it started an investigation against all the accused as they are indulged in arms smuggling, narco-terrorism, money laundering, circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) and are in unauthorised possession or involved in the acquisition of key assets for raising terror funds and working in active collaboration with the international terrorist organization including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Al Qaeda (AQ).

This case was registered suo-moto by the NIA on February 3.