The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen-linked narco-terror accused known as Iqbal Singh Alias “Shera” after his extradition from Portugal. He was brought to India on Wednesday and taken into custody at Delhi airport, as per media reports.
According to officials, Shera, the mastermind in a Hizbul Mujahideen terror financing case, was wanted in a narco-terror case involving drug proceeds used to fund militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir. The investigation links him to a heroin smuggling network from Pakistan into Punjab, where he allegedly used a terror gang to distribute narcotics and routed the proceeds through hawala channels to operatives in Pakistan and Kashmir.
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The case, which originated from a Punjab Police probe involving a Hizbul Mujahideen overground worker, highlights a long-standing pursuit of the fugitive, who had been evading authorities from an overseas location for several years, investigators said.
The case, officially designated RC-23/2020/NIA/DLI, highlights the intensifying crackdown on the nexus between drug trafficking and militant funding, reported ANI. Shera has been a high-priority target for law enforcement, with a non-bailable warrant issued against him in October 2020.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested wanted narco-terrorist Iqbal Singh alias Shera after successfully securing his extradition from Portugal, following sustained
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2026
diplomatic and legal efforts.
Mastermind in a major Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) terror financing case,…
Since June 2021, an Interpol Red Notice has also been active, marking him as a globally wanted fugitive linked to an illicit financing network.
His return to India is seen as a major breakthrough in efforts to dismantle overseas safe havens used by terror operatives. The NIA stated that the accused was involved in facilitating the movement of narcotics and channeling the proceeds to support extremist activities in the Kashmir Valley.
Investigators have recovered Rs 29 lakh in suspected drug proceeds from Shergojri, a high-level associate of deceased Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo. The probe expanded into nearby regions, leading to the seizure of an additional Rs 32 lakh from a terror cell in Punjab.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) confirmed that these financial recoveries are central to the ongoing case.
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