‘Drug cartel money was pumped into real estate, movies’
The Enforcement Directorate, which conducted searches at multiple locations across Tamil Nadu earlier this week in the ongoing probe against alleged drugs smugglers A.R. Jaffer Sadiq and his associates, has reportedly found evidence suggesting that cash was routed through specific financiers before it was invested in movie production, the hospitality industry, etc.
After registering a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), investigators conducted searches at different locations in Chennai, Madurai, and Tiruchi on April 9. The operation was necessitated following the investigations launched by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Customs Department against Jaffar Sadiq and others on serious charges of international trade of narcotic substances.
Jaffar Sadiq, alleged to be the mastermind of the international drug trafficking syndicate, is facing charges of smuggling pseudoephedrine camouflaged as healthmix powder and desiccated coconut to Australia and New Zealand.
Financiers involved The agency’s searches revealed that proceeds of cash on the illegal drug business was routed through specific financiers before being invested into various sectors, notably movie production, hospitality industry and acquiring immovable properties.
While ₹6 crore direct cash payments and more than ₹12 crore cash was routed and layered for movie production, over ₹21 crore cash deposits were observed in the bank accounts of entities controlled by Jaffer Sadiq, the ED said in a statement. “Approximately, more than ₹40 crore cash application have been found,” the central agency said.
The search operations, which covered the house belonging to Jaffer Sadiq in Mylapore, office and residence of film director Ameer, premises or Buhari Hotel’s owner Buhari and others, unveiled a bunch of incriminating documents and exposed details of properties, both movable and immovable, purchased with funds sourced from drug trafficking, leading to the confiscation of substantial evidence, the ED said.
According to police sources, the international drug cartel was exposed following a tipoff given by intelligence agencies in Australia and New Zealand through Interpol to Indian authorities which led to a joint operated by the NCB and Delhi police.
The drug syndicate is alleged to have sent about 45 consignments containing pseudoephedrine worth several hundreds of crores of rupees in the last three years to these two countries.
Tamil film producer Jaffer Sadiq, who was a member of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and later expelled from the party, was arrested by the NCB from Jaipur on March 9, this year. In April, actordirector Ameer and two others were summoned to Delhi and interrogated.