The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday arrested a member of the Popular Front of India (PFI), the banned terrorist organization, from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
National Investigation Agency (NIA). (File Photo: IANS)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday arrested a member of the Popular Front of India (PFI), the banned terrorist organization, from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
Sulfi Ibrahim, a native of Tholicode near Vithura in Thiruvananthapuram, was nabbed by the anti-terror agency as a part of the nationwide crackdown on PFI. Sources said Sufi Ibrahim was nabbed by the NIA sleuths while he was trying to flee the country and planning to travel to Kuwait.
Prior to his arrest, the NIA team, with the help of Kerala Police, had conducted a raid at Ibrahim’s residence. However, Ibrahim had managed to flee from the spot and since then he was under the radar of the investigation agencies.
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On September 28, 2022, the Central government banned PFI and associated outfits for five years for unlawful activities. Several PFI leaders were arrested following a nationwide crackdown called Operation Octopus.
In july, the NIA attached the Green Valley Academy at Manjery in Kerala’s Malappuram district, which was allegedly controlled by the banned outfit PFI.
According to the NIA, the Green Valley was one of the oldest and largest arms training centres of PFI in Kerala. It was started during the period of National Development Front, a former organisation of PFI, in 1994.
The NIA said that the training centre was spread over 10 hectares of land at Manjeri in Malappuram and operated under the cover of Green Valley Academy.
Prior to this, the NIA had attached five other PFI training centres in Kerala – Malabar House, Periyar Valley, Valluvanad House, Karunya Charitable Trust, and Trivandrum Education and Service Trust (TEST).
In August, the NIA conducted raids on several PFI offices due to their involvement in terrorist activities. Six PFI activists from lower ranks were arrested by the agency in cases of Hawala money transactions.
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