The country’s premier anti-terror arm, National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) Absconder Tracking Team, Bengaluru, has, on August 10, nabbed Seeni Aabulkhan, a key accused in the Sri Lankan human trafficking case run by a Sri Lankan with links with LTTE terror organisation.
In a post on the social media handle X, the NIA said that he was arrested after three years he had absconded. He was arrested from Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu. It said, “ its investigations found he along with his associates was involved in confirming the trafficked victims in a boat in high seas before sending them to Mangaluru by train, car and bikes for further confinement”.
In the statement, NIA said the case was originally registered by Mangaluru city police after searches led to the rescue of 13 Sri Lankan nationals from traffickers in June 2021. NIA took over the investigation and re-registered the case as RC 17/2-21/NIA/DLI”.
It said, “ NIA investigations revealed one Sri Lankan identified as Easan and having previous links with the terror outfit LTTE ( now banned in India) to be kingpin of the human trafficking racket. He had colluded with the accused to illegally bring 38 Sri Lankan nationals from Sri Lanka to various locations within Tamil Nadu after luring them with false promises. Besides the promise of helping them obtain legitimate documentation for migration to Canada, they were lured with the employment opportunities”.
NIA Nabs Key Absconder in Sri Lankan Human Trafficking Case from Tamilnadu pic.twitter.com/VRrjCM5dKx
— NIA India (@NIA_India) August 10, 2024
Following a detailed probe, NIA had charge-sheeted ten accused, including three absconders between October 2021 and January 2024. NIA had filed a preliminary charge sheet against five Indian accused in this case– Dhinakaran alias Ayya, Kasi Viswanathan, Rasool, Satham Ushen, and Abdul Muheetu, in October 2021. “To date, a total of 13 suspects have been arraigned in the case by the NIA,” the agency said, adding that investigations in this case remain open. It had arrested seven accused in the case. Further investigations are going on to apprehend the remaining absconders.
In October last year, NIA apprehended an absconding accused, 39-year-old Mohamed Imran Khan alias Haja Najerbheeden, who was “on the run since June 2021” from Tamil Nadu in a Sri Lankan human trafficking case. “Investigations revealed that Imran Khan is a pivotal figure in a broader conspiracy involving international human trafficking,” the NIA said. It said An Absconder Tracking Team (ATT) of the NIA in Bengaluru monitored his movements over the past several months, leading to his capture from an undisclosed location in Theni District.
In a different but similar one, in July, NIA arrested four key accused in Delhi suspected of being involved in luring and trafficking young Indians to foreign countries on the pretext of offering them lucrative jobs.
