Mumbai, June 2: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches at around 20 locations across Mumbai, Surat, Ankleshwar and Rajkot as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged transnational narcotics trafficking syndicate operated by Salim Ismail Dola, a suspected close associate of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
The searches are being conducted by the agency's Mumbai Zonal Office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, officials said.
According to the ED, the searches target premises linked to suppliers of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs, chemical traders, traffickers allegedly involved in the production and distribution of synthetic narcotic drug Mephedrone (MD), hawala operators and individuals suspected of holding benami assets acquired using proceeds generated by the organised drug syndicate.
ED targets financial network of alleged drug syndicate
According to ED officials, the operation is aimed at dismantling the financial architecture of a syndicate allegedly headed by Dola, who investigators believe controlled a vast network involved in the manufacturing, distribution and international trafficking of MD, one of the country's most widely abused synthetic narcotic drugs.
The searches come amid an expanding probe into the laundering of proceeds generated from the drug trade through hawala channels and their investment in real estate and other assets in India and abroad.
Dola, 59, a resident of Mumbai's Dongri area, was extradited from Turkey in April, following a joint operation involving Indian agencies, Interpol and Turkish authorities. He is accused of operating an international drug trafficking network involved in the manufacture, distribution and trafficking of synthetic narcotic substances, including Mephedrone, commonly known as MD.
He had been absconding since 2018 and was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued at India's request. Investigators allege that he continued to operate a global narcotics network from Istanbul using forged travel documents and multiple identities.
Probe traces chemical supply and hawala channels
The ED's money laundering investigation stems from several FIRs registered in Mumbai against Dola and his associates under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. During the course of the investigation, the agency is understood to have traced a network allegedly involved in procuring precursor chemicals, manufacturing synthetic narcotics in clandestine laboratories, transporting the contraband across states, and routing profits through informal financial channels.
The agency has also traced alleged laundering of drug proceeds through hawala channels and investments in movable and immovable assets in the names of associates and other individuals.
Focus on benami assets and financial facilitators
Officials said the ongoing searches are focused on mapping the entire financial and operational network of the syndicate, including chemical manufacturing units, financial facilitators, accountants and chartered accountants allegedly involved in the concealment and layering of proceeds generated through narcotics trafficking.
The probe has also widened to include hawala operators believed to have facilitated the movement of funds generated through the illicit drug trade. Investigators suspect that substantial proceeds of crime were invested in movable and immovable assets through associates, front entities and benamidars to conceal their origins.
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Properties held in the names of relatives, associates and other individuals are under scrutiny, with investigators examining suspected investments in benami properties in India and assets acquired abroad using proceeds from the narcotics trade.
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