Mumbai: ED tightens its grip on international drugs smuggling gang, raids at 21 locations!

The Mumbai-based zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted search operations at 21 locations in Mumbai, Surat, Ankleshwar and Rajkot on June 2 and 3. The operation was conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLL), 2002, in connection with the ongoing investigation against the ‘International Organized Drug Trafficking Gang’ run by Salim Ismail Dola and his associates.

The search operation involved Salim Dola’s organized narcotics network covering all key end-to-end components of the gang, such as precursor chemical suppliers, chemical traders, manufacturers/distributors of synthetic narcotic drug Mephedrone (MD), hawala operators and those who owned benami properties worth crores of rupees purchased with the money earned from this organized drug gang.

The objective of the search operation was to target key links in the illicit supply chain and money laundering mechanism to severely disrupt the gang’s operational capacity and financial structure.

During the search operation, cash, foreign currency, gold bricks and bank balances worth approximately Rs 1.33 crore were seized and frozen. Apart from this, foreign currency worth US$2,200 was also found. Apart from this, documents related to immovable properties worth crores of rupees located in India and Dubai were also recovered, which indicated that a large part of the money earned from this organized drug gang was invested in these properties.

Let us tell you that the investigation in this case was started on the basis of several FIRs registered against Salim Dola and others by various law enforcement agencies in Mumbai. This FIR was registered for crimes related to illegal trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances. The investigation conducted so far has revealed to the ED the existence of a highly organized trans-national criminal network.

This network was involved in activities like procurement of precursor chemicals, clandestine manufacturing of Mephedrone (MD), inter-state transportation and distribution of narcotics, international trafficking of narcotics, amassing of proceeds of crime through hawala channels and its ‘layering’ (concealing the source of money) and purchasing movable and immovable properties in the name of its associates and others. At the same time, further investigation in this matter by ED is still going on.