ED Registers ECIR In ₹200-Crore Drug Haul Case Against Navin Chichkar, Probes Global Cartel Links

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in connection with the international drug trafficking syndicate allegedly led by Navin Gurunath Chichkar. A 30-year-old film graduate with a background in criminal psychology from London, is accused in the Rs 200-crore drug haul case and is alleged to have orchestrated a transnational narcotics network that smuggled drugs worth an estimated Rs 1,128 crore into India over the past two years.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which had been investigating the syndicate, had previously seized assets worth Rs 10.07 crore, including 15 bank accounts and five immovable properties in Maharashtra, believed to be proceeds from Chichkar's illicit activities. Following the registration of the ECIR, the ED is now focusing on the identification and attachment of benami assets linked to the drug trade, both within India and abroad, including the international network involved in trafficking cocaine and hydroponic cannabis.

Navin Chichkar was deported from Malaysia in May 2025, while his younger brother Dhiraj Chichkar, alleged to have managed the financial operations of the syndicate, was deported on August 15. Both were brought back following Red Corner Notices issued by the NCB and are currently in judicial custody.

NCB investigations have revealed a key Pakistan connection in Navin Chichkar’s syndicate. Chichkar was introduced to Mohammed Ali Qutubuddin Ali, a Pakistan-born, US-based cocaine operator, through Tanzanian national Kasim Nazir Hussein, who supplied cocaine consignments to Chichkar. He admitted that some of Hussein’s clients, linked to Ali, were supplied with drugs in India, while the proceeds were routed through Thailand-based cryptocurrency operators.

Navin Chichkar fled India in 2021 via the Nepal border in connection with an LSD trafficking case, traveled to the UAE, UK, and Thailand before being tracked to Malaysia. He also procured a passport from the Republic of Vanuatu and explored high-value real estate acquisitions abroad, including a Rs 2-crore lease for a luxury property in Phuket, Thailand, along with other assets in the US, UAE, and Caribbean countries. Investigators said he operated under the alias “Raven”, sourcing cocaine and hydroponic ganja, from US-based suppliers known as “Wyatt” and “Taffi”,Payments for these consignments were made in cryptocurrency (USDT) and the proceeds were routed through his TRONLINK wallet.

Meanwhile, Dhiraj Chichkar, Navin’s younger brother, managed the cartel’s operations within India. He supervised the distribution of narcotics, collected proceeds from the sale of cocaine and hydroponic ganja, and routed the funds through hawala channels. The ED is now investigating his role as the key cash handler in the country.

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The syndicate first came under the scanner on January 21 this year when the NCB intercepted a DHL parcel from Mumbai to Australia that concealed 200 grams of cocaine in a projector. A follow-up raid on January 31 in Navi Mumbai led to the recovery of 11.54 kg of high-grade cocaine, 4.9 kg of hydroponic weed, 5.5 kg of cannabis gummies and Rs 1.60 lakh in cash. Officials said the syndicate had built a sophisticated supply chain, sourcing narcotics from the US and distributing them in India and abroad.

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