Bhopal: Machhli’s Dubai Assets, ₹100 Crore Foreign Deals Under Scanner

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Crime Branch investigation into the high-profile MD drugs racket has revealed that key accused Shahwar, alias Shahwar Machhli, was not only running a vast narcotics network but had also made heavy investments in Dubai real estate.

Digital evidence recovered from seized mobile phones has exposed suspicious foreign transactions worth nearly Rs 100 crore, involving financial trails across India, Dubai and Malaysia, sources said on Monday.

Police officials said that Shahwar and his nephew Yaseen Machhli operated a transnational narcotics and hawala network, using illegal channels to move large sums abroad. Chat records extracted from devices indicate links to multiple Gulf countries, pointing to a wider financial web.

During interrogation, Yaseen allegedly admitted that he had learnt blackmail tactics directly from his uncle.

According to officials, women were used to honey-trap businessmen and influential individuals, who were later extorted for large sums, funnelled through the drug and hawala networks to foreign accounts.

Multiple raids on Shahwar’s properties have already led to seizure of cash worth crores, luxury vehicles and land documents. With fresh evidence of foreign property ownership, agencies are now preparing to seek international cooperation. Officials said Interpol and Dubai Police may be approached to widen scope of the probe.

14 arrested so far

Additional DCP (Crime Branch) Shailendra Singh Chauhan said that over 14 arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation. Shahwar’s operations reportedly extended from Bhopal and Indore to Mumbai and Delhi, forming a major MD drug supply chain with international financial links.