NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate has attached Rs 55 crore assets - a hotel, bungalow and several high-end vehicles - of expelled DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq in Chennai in a money-laundering case related to allegedly running a drug cartel that smuggled pseudoephedrine and ketamine.
The anti-money laundering agency has accused Sadiq of being involved in smuggling drugs to foreign countries and having invested 'proceeds of crime' to purchase properties and hotels. Sadiq, associated with Tamil film industry and part of DMK's NRI cell, was expelled from the party after central agencies started investigating his role in the drug smuggling racket.
"Investigation revealed that Jaffer Sadiq, in collusion with his brother Mohammed Saleem and others, was actively involved in exporting and concealing pseudoephedrine and other narcotic substances," the ED said on Thursday.
The proceeds of crime were laundered using several shell entities in which Sadiq was director and partner. He had also involved some of his relatives in laundering the proceeds from the drug network, the agency said. Sadiq was arrested by ED on June 26 and his brother on Aug 12 accusing them of channelising and layering the proceeds of crime earned from the illicit drug trafficking.
The attached 14 properties include JSM Residency Hotel, a luxurious bungalow and seven high-end vehicles like Jaguar and Mercedes, acquired through criminal activities.