Thiruvananthapuram: It is found out that the terrorist hailing from Kerala, Ashif, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was involved in robbing cash in a bid to join the Islamic State (IS). Ashif, a native of Mathilakam in Trissur, was arrested by the NIA yesterday from Tamil Nadu.
The NIA has informed that Ashif is also involved in many robberies and gold smuggling in Kerala recently. He is currently in NIA custody for one week.
Ashif created a group on social media called ‘Pet Lovers’ to recruit people into his gang for robbery. Ashif and his gang had escaped to Sathyamangalam forest area after a robbery in Palakkad in which they stole Rs.30 lakhs. After the robbery, the gang was holed up in a rented house in Sathyamangalam.
The NIA had nabbed the accused from this rented house. Ashif is also an accused in another murder. He is also involved in the robbery of money send to an ATM in Palakkad. The search for another gang member is still progressing.
The criminal gang was planning high stakes robbery at a nationalized bank, a cooperative organization and a jewelry shop.
The aim of the thirty-six year old Ashif was to make money for more terrorist activities. However, he was under surveillance by the NIA for the past three months. Ashif was living at a rented house at Bhavani Sagar area in Sathyamangalam forest.
Ashif was planning ATM robbery, online bank scams, and several other robberies when he was nabbed by the NIA. It is believed that Ashif is also an accused in the murder of an RSS activist at Padoor.
The case is being investigated by the Kochi unit of NIA.
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