In Ahmedabad, Gujarat, a 23-year-old Syrian national named Ali Meghat Al-Azhar was detained on suspicion of embezzling money gathered for Gaza victims to support an extravagant lifestyle.
The Crime Branch conducted the arrest at the Ellisbridge Regal Hotel prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival. Yousef Al-Zahar, Ahmed Alhabash, and Zakaria Haitham Alzar are the three additional Syrian suspects who are still at large. A lookout notice has been issued to keep them from leaving India.
Al-Azhar was found in possession of USD 3,600 and ₹25,000 in cash by the police. There is no proof that the money was delivered to Gaza, but he and his associates are accused of using videos of people in Gaza to solicit donations from nearby mosques. Arriving in Ahmedabad on August 2 and Kolkata on July 22, the four persons entered India on tourist visas.
Their precise motivation and whether they were involved in any activities other than fraudulent fundraising are being looked into by the police, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad, and the National Investigation Agency. Al-Azhar has been placed on a blacklist and deported after he acknowledged funding the gang’s extravagant lifestyle.
According to police, Ali and his three co-conspirators were obtaining money from mosques and other locations on behalf of Gaza victims, then spending it on a lavish lifestyle. Right now, the three other Syrian nationals are evading capture. According to the authorities, they might have been investigating potential sites in Ahmedabad for a particular, unidentified reason.
In order to ascertain the genuine motivation of these Syrian nationals in Gujarat and the destination of the funds gathered from the mosques, the Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch is collaborating with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Syrian Nationals’ Journey: From Abu Dhabi to Kolkata to Ahmedabad.
Ali was one of four Syrian youths who travelled to Abu Dhabi from Damascus, the country’s capital, according to the Crime Branch. On a tourist visa, they arrived in Kolkata on July 22 and Ahmedabad on August 2. They were all monolingual in Arabic.
This gang of Syrian youths allegedly used films of the agony and starvation caused by the war in Gaza to solicit money from mosques. After looking into every mosque in the city, the Crime Branch discovered that the defendants were gathering money in cash and online.
No Proof of Donations to Gaza.
Despite their efforts to raise money for Gaza, investigators have not discovered any proof that the money was transported there. The detained Syrian national acknowledged during questioning that his gang were collecting money for their own opulent lifestyles.
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