ATS arrests five men for Khair wood smuggling terror links being probed

Mumbai, Oct 9 (PTI) The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday arrested five persons for alleged involvement in Khair wood smuggling, and was probing if the money generated by the racket was being used for terror activities, officials said.
Some of the arrested men were under the ATS scanner following its joint operation with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at Padgha in Thane district in November 2023 and had links with the accused in that case, said an official here.
Based on specific inputs, officials of ATS Mumbai conducted a raid at Savarde village in Ratnagiri district and busted a Khair or catechu wood smuggling racket, the official said.
The racket was operating across Maharashtra and Karnataka for the last couple of months, he said. Khair wood is used in the production of dyes as well as traditional medicines.

The arrested suspects are residents of Padgha, Yeola in Nashik and Ahmednagar districts of Maharashtra, and also Karnataka.
The ATS has booked them for theft and also under the Forest Act, as of now.
The NIA had in November 2023 busted an ISIS terror module and seized incriminating material related to the manufacturing of explosives. Mohammed Ashraf, one of the accused arrested during this operation, had allegedly taken 'bayath' (pledge of allegiance) from another arrested accused, Saquib Nachan, officials had said.
The accused were conspiring to endanger the safety and security of India, its secular ethos and culture, and the democratic systems of governance, NIA had claimed.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)