New Delhi, Sep 27: Kamran Faridi, an undercover agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is again in the news after he was sent to jail for seven years for threatening his bosses.
Three years ago, Faridi made headlines after the FBI asked the UK security agencies to arrest the Pakistani businessman Jabir Motiwala. Motiwala is known for handling Dawood Ibrahim's overseas money laundering and drugs business.
But later, in a dramatic turn, Faridi told the UK court that he was asked by the FBI to set a trap and lured Motiwala into it. He "confessed" that, on the FBI's instructions, he "created evidence" to link Motiwala to Dawood Ibrahim.
But the FBI was jolted when Motiwala was freed on unconditional bail in April this year and is now back in Karachi.
But Faridi had to pay a price, as was "caught" by the FBI who accused him of siding with those he had been tasked to follow and bring them to justice. He had "gone over to the dark side," and was working for the Pakistani Inter-State Intelligence (ISI) as well. The FBI had further learnt about Faridi's links with the ISI after his phone was tapped. The FBI terminated his services and charged him on various counts including for threatening his superiors to kill them. On Saturday, the US court sent him to prison for seven years.
Faridi's riveting story has several twists and turns. Though born in Karachi, he migrated to the US in the early 1990s where he secured a green card after agreeing to work for the FBI in some of the organisation's most dangerous operations. Faridi has lived in Florida with his American wife Kelley for more than a decade and had operated as an undercover "confidential informant" in Pakistan for more than 20 years. According to sources, he was double crossing for the last nine years.
According to Indian intelligence sources, at some point Faridi was "bought" by the Pakistani spy agency, ISI. Close to the final hearing in the UK court, a leading Pakistani newspaper, part of ISI's game plan, published Faridi's statement wherein he revealed that Dawood's aide was "trapped" by him in a false case. He also told the Pakistani newspaper that he was forced by FBI bosses to involve D-company in the trap. But Indian agencies do not buy Faridi's side of the story.
Moti, a 53-year-old Pakistani national also known as Jabir Motiwala and Jabir Siddiq, is a designated terrorist and wanted by the Indian agencies for the horrific 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai. His links with Dawood Ibrahim, who is among India's top most wanted criminals, is well documented by the Indian intelligence agencies. He manages Underworld Dawn's investments in the UK, UAE and worldwide.
Interestingly, just one before Moti's arrest in London, the British intelligence agencies had picked up another Pakistani Asif Hafeez, another lieutenant of Dawood Ibrahim, in August 2017 from the same area of London after receiving a tip off from the FBI.
As reported by indianarrative.com earlier, Hafeez's lawyers told the US agents that he knew nothing about the Taliban and Afghanistan, but confirmed knowing Dawood Ibrahim as both of them were involved in gold trading in Dubai at one stage and used to watch cricket, sitting in adjoining boxes. But he had lost contact in the late 90s when Ibrahim left Dubai for good.
It is an open secret that Dawood Ibrahim resides in Karachi. According to Pakistani sources, his Karachi house is the most guarded house in the country. But Pakistan had been denying Dawood's presence until last year, when a press release of the Pakistani government listed UN designated terrorists living in Pakistan.
One of them was Dawood Ibrahim. Pakistan had until now spent years denying that it shelters the D-Company chief, with a reward of $25 million over his head. Dawood has been wanted on charges of terrorism, murder, extortion, targeted killing, drug trafficking, and various other cases. According to Pakistani authorities, the list mentions Dawood Ibrahim's address as "White House, Near Saudi Mosque, Clifton" in Karachi, Pakistan. It also lists several other properties for the mobster and drug dealer, including one "House Nu 37 - 30th Street - defence, Housing Authority, Karachi" and a "palatial bungalow in the hilly area of Noorabad in Karachi".
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