The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a supplementary charge sheet against seven accused in a narco-terrorism case related to the recovery of over Rs 20 lakh and two kg heroin from a vehicle in Kupwara district of north Kashmir last year, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday. The NIA had filed the first charge sheet in the case against six accused on December 5, 2020.

The supplementary charge sheet was filed in a special NIA court here on Friday against the seven arrested accused — Showkat Salam Parray of Sumbal (Bandipora), Asif Gul of Kanispora (Baramulla), Altaf Ahmed Shah of Dangerpora (Ganderbal), Romesh Kumar of Vijaypur (Samba), Mudasir Ahmed Dar of Wanduna (Shopian), Amin Allai alias Hilal of Bijbehera (Anantnag) and Abdul Rashid of Tanghdhar (Kupwara). "Investigation has established that the seven charge-sheeted accused persons were part of a deep-rooted conspiracy for procuring and selling narcotics drugs and generating funds in J&K and other parts of India in close association with operatives of banned terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), based across the border in Pakistan," the spokesperson said.

"The funds generated were pumped for furtherance of terrorist activity in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir through a network of over ground workers," the spokesperson said. The case was initially registered at the Handwara Police Station in Kupwara district on June 11, 2020 after Abdul Momin Peer was arrested and an amount of Rs 20,01,000 and two kg heroin were recovered from his vehicle during a routine check, the spokesperson said.

Further interrogation of Peer led to the recovery of 15 kg heroin and Rs 1.15 crore in cash, according to the spokesperson. The NIA re-registered the case on June 26, 2020 and took over the investigation, the spokesperson said.