Ahmedabad : The Crime Branch of Ahmedabad Police have managed to arrest the remaining three members of a Syrian gang that was collecting money in the name of Gaza victims.
In August, Meghat Alzaher, was arrested from an Ellisbridge hotel. It was after interrogating him that the police came to know of his associates. A lookout notice was issued against Ahmed Ohed Alhbash, Zakaria Haitham Alzahar, and Yousef Khalid Alzahar and they were arrested moments before boarding a flight to Damascus from the Delhi airport. They have been taken to Ahmedabad.
The police have registered a case against the four for running an international money trail and fake Gaza relief racket.
Investigations have revealed that the four Syrian nationals, who arrived in India on tourist visas from Damascus, had been moving across Gujarat and other states for three months. They posed as “victims of the Gaza war” to trick unsuspecting citizens and religious institutions into donating money. Far from being refugees, the men lived comfortably in branded clothes. Two of them had gunshot wounds, which raised suspicions among investigators.
“Our checks have found that the accused collected huge sums,” ACP Bharat Patel said after initial interrogation.
They reportedly used the traditional angadia system to transfer Rs 40 lakh to Damascus, disguising it as aid money. Authorities are now looking into the money trail to find out if it is linked to terror financing. The Ahmedabad angadia operator who handled the funds has already been questioned.
Investigation has revealed that the three fled after Meghat’s arrest. They were last spotted in Bengaluru but managed to reach Delhi.
“They were caught only because of the LOC we’d issued. Otherwise, they would have got away,” an official said.
“How could anyone fall for their Gaza story when realistically no one can walk out of Gaza right now? This points to a larger network,” he added.
Investigators have reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to open communication links with Syrian authorities for deeper background checks. The four are being held at the Joint Interrogation Centre in Ahmedabad.