The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former DMK leader Jaffer Sadiq in a case of money laundering through an international drug trafficking network. On Wednesday, the ED questioned Sadiq inside the Tihar jail, where he is already lodged in another NDPS case, after seeking permission from a Patiala House court to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Patiala House Court’s Special NDPS judge Sudhir Kumar Sirohi on June 20 gave nod to the ED officials to examine Sadiq on June 25 and 26 and record his statement under section 50 of PMLA. The court had directed the jail authorities to make necessary arrangements.
In the application moved before the Special Judge seeking permission to question Sadiq, the special public prosecutor (SPP) for ED N K Matta sought permission to take the laptop and printer with them to take the accused’s signature on his recorded statements. Also, the agency wanted to confront Sadiq with case data owing to the recovery of 50kg of pseudoephedrine, a restricted drug, to avoid its misuse.
The accused was examined inside the Tihar Jail on May 1, May 8, and May 10, but the investigation could not be completed.
Mukesh PU, Mujeepur Rahaman R, Ashok Kumar, and SG Sadanandan (Sathanantham) were also questioned in the case for three days from May 8.
After taking over the case from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the ED also conducted raids at various places in Tamil Nadu to gather evidence into drug-related money laundering involving former DMK member Jaffer Sadiq and others. Sadiq was expelled from the DMK after his name surfaced in the drug trafficking case.
Sources said the ED registered the case against the former DMK functionary after the NCB found Sadiq’s links with some “high-profile” people.
The NCB alleged that Sadiq spearheaded a network that sourced pseudoephedrine in India and trafficked it to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia under the guise of food-grade cargo. NCB officials suspect the Sadiq-run drug syndicate had sent 45 consignments containing 3,500 kilograms of pseudoephedrine over three years to various countries.