The Gujarat anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Monday morning arrested Dongri resident Moosa Halari Munaf Abdul Majid alias Munaf, 57, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case who was on India’s list of 50 most wanted terrorists sent to Pakistan after the 26/11 terror attacks, from the Mumbai international airport.
“Moosa was arrested for his involvement in smuggling of 35kg heroin worth ₹175 crore, which was seized off the Mandvi coast in Gujarat on January 2,” said Himanshu Shukla, deputy inspector general of police, Gujarat ATS. Additional director general Deven Bharati of the Maharashtra ATS, too, confirmed Moosa’s arrest. “Moosa was carrying a Pakistani passport. A team from the Gujarat ATS, which was present at the airport, arrested him,” said a senior ATS officer of Gujarat.
According to sources in the Mumbai crime branch, Moosa had procured three scooters with registration number MH-04-Z 261, MH-05- TC-29, MH-05-TC 16 from a scooter dealer, Asgar Ali Tahir Ali Masalawala, after taking a loan of ₹70,000 through his friend Rahid Shaikh. When he was asked to repay the loan, he refused, stating the scooters were purchased by the mastermind of 1993 serial blasts Tiger Memon, and that Memon had used it for the blasts, said police. Moosa also warned his friend that Tiger Memon would kill him and his family members if he gave out the details to anyone.
After the serial blasts, he fled to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, and from there he went to Bangkok. Later, Memon got him a Pakistani passport under the name of Anwar Muhammed. He took shelter in Nairobi in Kenya and was running a business in the name of a firm, Magnum Africa. He then shifted to export and import of rice, which was used as a front to smuggle explosives and contraband to India, said sources in Gujarat ATS. “Moosa had spoken to a Pakistani national, Haji Hasan, about infiltrating the Gujarat coast with explosives. We are interrogating him further,” said an officer from Gujarat police, requesting anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}After the serial blasts, he fled to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, and from there he went to Bangkok. Later, Memon got him a Pakistani passport under the name of Anwar Muhammed. He took shelter in Nairobi in Kenya and was running a business in the name of a firm, Magnum Africa. He then shifted to export and import of rice, which was used as a front to smuggle explosives and contraband to India, said sources in Gujarat ATS. “Moosa had spoken to a Pakistani national, Haji Hasan, about infiltrating the Gujarat coast with explosives. We are interrogating him further,” said an officer from Gujarat police, requesting anonymity.
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