Colaba-based businessman, handed over arms and explosives to
Lashkar-e-Toiba militants for carrying out attacks in Mumbai, in what
is emerging as the first major joint operation by the Karachi-based
gangster and the banned outfit, official sources said.
Ajmal Amin, the only militant arrested during the operation, told
interrogators that the dozen ultras who sailed from Karachi had come
to Sasool dock from where they were taken first to Cuff Parade and
later to Gateway of India in boats arranged by a front man of Dawood,
who runs several custom clearing houses in Mumbai, the sources
claimed.
Mumbai police and central security agencies have launched a massive
manhunt for the businessman considered as a henchman of Dawood, who
has been listed as Global Terrorist having links to al-Qaeda by the
United States.
The suspect looks after some customs clearing mechanism and also
indulges in diesel smuggling for the underworld don, the sources
claimed.
After getting into waiting boats arranged by Dawood's gang in Mumbai,
arms, ammunition and plastic explosives were quickly transferred to
the waiting boats that took the terrorists to the Gateway of India
which was had been marked as launching pad for the terror strike, the
first of its kind in the country terrorism history.
The Intelligence agencies had sent a warning note to Coast Guard to
keep a watch for an unidentified Pakistani trawler sailing from
Karachi port which may enter into Indian waters. While the coast guard
was looking for a Pakistani or unidentified vessel, the terrorists
hijacked Indian fishing trawler 'MV Kuber' killing its crew and
entered the Mumbai seas.
The Coast Guard captured the abandoned vessel which had a Global
Positioning System as it was was drifting nearly four nautical miles
off the coast of Mumbai on Thursday morning, several hours after the
terrorists struck.
The terrorist claimed during interrogation that they had even planned
to leave Mumbai back for Karachi, if luck favoured them, the sources
said.
This solves the mystery of Global Positioning System instrument
located from MV Kuber which was fed with a return map to Karachi, the
sources said.
The underworld don's men had also provided a complete pictures of the
two hotels and the Chhabad House, which houses the Israelis.
Meanwhile, investigators were going through the call data details
downloaded from the satellite phone also recovered from the abandoned
trawler.
It revealed numbers that have been traced back to the LeT's 'chief of
operations', Muzamil.
The terrorists had been in constant touch with their masters across
the border and some of the communications have been intercepted by
both the army as well as the elite National Security Guards.
The militant said Taj and Trident-Oberoi were selected because the two
hotels have a large clientele of Britishers and US citizens besides
that a large number of Israeli businessmen had come to Trident for
attending a diamond exhibition, the sources said.
The militants were also asked by their 'masters' to engage security
personnel in negotiation besides throwing grenades.
The two militants holed up in Nariman House had made attempts to hold
talks on two occasions, the sources said.