Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja's brother arrested over fake terror 'hit list'
SYDNEY, Dec 04: The brother of Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja was arrested Tuesday for allegedly framing a love rival as the author of a terrorist hit list.
Arsakan Khawaja, 39, is accused of trying to set up his former university colleague Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen, by convincing police that the 26- year-old was part of a plot to kill then prime minister Malcom Turnbull.
Nizamdeen was arrested in August after a purported terror hit list was found in his notebook. He was released only weeks later, when police figured out the script did not match his handwriting.
"What we will be alleging is that he (Nizamdeen) was set up in a planned and calculated manner. Motivated, in part, by a personal grievance," New South Wales assistant commissioner Mick Willing told reporters.
Willing added that the grievance was over a woman, and that line of enquiry was "part of the process" being investigated.
He said there is no ongoing threat to the community.
Australian police now say they "regret" arresting Sri Lankan-born Nizamdeen. "In relation to the charging and the subsequent dropping of the charge against the Sri Lankan citizen, we have offered, and have paid his court costs," Willing said.
"We regret the circumstances which led to him being charged and the time he subsequently spent in custody."
He is reportedly seeking further damages from authorities.
Arsakan Khawaja was arrested in suburban Sydney on Tuesday and is being questioned over allegations he attempted to pervert justice by making a false document, which listed high-profile targets.
Pakistan-born Australian batsman Usman Khawaja is due to make a return from injury this Thursday against India in the first of a four match series.
Courtesy: timesofindia
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
