London (Agencies) : Pakistani diplomats in London are making all-out efforts to prevent the extradition of D-Company’s top lieutenant Jabir Motiwala to the United States. According to NDTV Headline Hearing the extradition plea of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the D-Company’s defence lawyer, backed by Pakistani diplomats, said that Motiwala was suffering from acute depression and cannot be flown to the US to face money laundering, drug trafficking and underworld crime charges.

Motiwala, one of the trusted aides of Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested in London in August 2018 on money laundering and drug trafficking charges, following a tip-off from the FBI. Sources close to Indian agencies informed news agency IANS that the Pakistan High Commission in London had earlier tried to thwart the extradition move by submitting a letter on behalf of the accused’s lawyer in the court, saying Motiwala was a “well-known and respected businessman in Pakistan”.

In fact, Pakistan fears that once Motiwala is extradited to the US, the close aide of D-Company can reveal the entire nexus between Dawood Ibrahim’s underworld network (being operated from Karachi) and the don’s connection with Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). The US has already declared Dawood Ibrahim a global terrorist running an international drug syndicate and sharing the gang’s routes with Pakistan-based terror outfits.

Sources said that Dawood’s key finance aide Motiwala appeared in the magistrate’s courts in London after his arrest by Scotland Yard’s Extradition Unit on charges of money laundering and sharing the proceeds of narcotics money earned on behalf of the D-Company.
Sources said that Barrister John Hardy, appearing on behalf of the US government, revealed to the court that Motiwala, travels extensively and conducts (underworld crimes related) meetings for his boss Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian who along with his brother Anis, are wanted for terror crimes in India. Sources said that the defence lawyer told the court that Motiwala was suffering from depression and had made several suicide attempts in the past few years. The lawyer argued that in such a situation, he cannot be extradited to the US to face trial.

Sources said that contrary to the defence lawyer’s claim, Motiwala has been investing D-Company’s black money into various projects abroad. He is said to be involved in drug trafficking and also travels to collect money on behalf of the D-Company in Europe. Motiwala’s extradition to the US, if executed would be a setback for Dawood Ibrahim as well as his patrons in the Pakistan establishment, the sources said.

ANI Report from London The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of US suspects that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is currently in Pakistan after secretly recording his close aide and Karachi-based businessman Jabir Motiwala.
On Tuesday, the second day of Motiwala’s extradition hearing to the United States, at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court here, Barrister John Hardy, on behalf of the US government, said, “Motiwala was a high ranking member of the D-company, a criminal organisation run by Dawood Ibrahim.” Dawood Ibrahim is wanted in India to face the law of the land for carrying out serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 in which scores of people were killed and injured.
Hardy also claimed that during his interaction with the FBI agents, the businessman disclosed activities of D-company in India, United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan, The News International has reported.
The FBI’s three Pakistani agents, described as CS1, CS2, and CS3 to protect their identity, interacted with Motiwala extensively over the course of more than five years in Karachi and Atlantic City to set up deals for the smuggling of heroin into the US.
The Court was further informed that Motiwala was not aware that those dealing with him were working for the FBI, secretly recording him on audio, video and written form to create evidence against him for arrest and prosecution later on.
Meanwhile, Motiwala’s legal team, led by barrister Edward Fitzgerald, claimed that the alleged offences date back many years and the “long delay” between 2014 and 2018. He also raised the issue of illegal methods being used to trap the businessman into committing acts of criminality.
In addition, a psychiatrist specialist told the court that Motiwala is highly likely to commit suicide if extradited to America. The doctor stressed that after reviewing Motiwala’s past medical record, obtained independently from Pakistan, it was well established that the businessman has a long history of depression and he had attempted suicide on three occasions.
However, despite Motiwala’s denial of allegations, the trial continues at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The 51-year-old Pakistani national was arrested in August last year from Hilton on Edgware Road by Scotland Yard’s Extradition Unit on the request of the US government to face extradition to America after an FBI probe charged him with money laundering, extortion, and conspiracy to import unlawful substances such as heroin. (ANI)