NEW DELHI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Tamil film producer Jaffer Sadiq, who is allegedly involved in an international drug cartel spanning India, Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand, on Saturday. Sadiq, recently expelled by the ruling DMK, was the Chennai West deputy organiser of the party’s NRI wing.
On Feb 15, NCB had arrested three of Sadiq’s aides — Mukesh, 34, Mujibur Rahman, 26, and Ashok Kumar, 33 — and seized 50kg of pseudoephedrine used to make narcotic drugs during a search in a Delhi godown. Their disclosures had put the sleuths on Sadiq's trail.
“He had been hiding in Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and had finally reached Jaipur,” said an official on Saturday.
The gang sent pseudoephedrine to Australia and New Zealand by hiding it in desiccated coconut powder and food powder. In the last three years, they sent 45 such consignments to Australia, successfully trafficking about 3,500kg of the compound to other countries, the official added.
Sadiq is believed to have told NCB that he got Rs 1 lakh per kg as “cut” from the smuggling proceeds. “One of his movies, Mangai, was made using drug money,” claimed Gyaneshwar Singh, DDG, NCB. “He also invested the proceeds in real estate. The drug money was used to fund businesses. Some of his partners are high-profile individuals closely associated with Tamil Nadu cinemas.”
Sadiq had opened a hotel in Chennai allegedly with money earned from drug trafficking. In 2019, his name surfaced in a Customs case linked to smuggling of another drug, ketamine, to Malaysia.
The film producer claimed that he had also invested the money in political funding. Among others, he admitted to giving Rs 5 lakh to a minister as aid during the floods last year and Rs 2 lakh to his party. Singh said, “We will trace whoever is involved in the activity, book them and take legal action against them.”
Tamil Nadu BJP attacked DMK following Sadiq’s arrest. State BJP chief K Annamalai posted on X: “NCB’s press conference today not only elaborates on DMK functionary & International drug lord Jaffar Sadiq’s investment of drug money in making movies, real estate & hotels, but also extends to ‘political funding’. NCB is also probing the links of everyone, including DMK leaders involved with Jaffar Sadiq in this. How long will TN CM Thiru @mkstalin remain silent?”
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