Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi has taken into custody six men as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation linked to an Afghanistan-India drug smuggling network, which came to light with the nabbing of a heroin shipment at Nhava Sheva in 2021.
All six accused were initially arrested in 2021 under the NDPS Act, and had been in judicial custody before the ED took over their investigation concerning money laundering linked to the drug trafficking operations.
Of the accused, Lovejit Singh alias Labba and Manjeet Singh alias Manna were taken into custody under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on October 11. Prabhjit Singh, Gurjot Singh, and Ramandeep Singh were apprehended on October 18, while Gurpreet Singh was arrested on October 20, according to a statement from the agency.
ED investigations revealed that the arrested accused coordinated the smuggling, storage and distribution of heroin across Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. They were key members of a syndicate that smuggled heroin from Afghanistan and Iran, concealing them within shipments of talc stone and gypsum powder. Central to this operation was M/s Sandhu Exports, a company that Prabhjit Singh allegedly used as a front for drug trafficking.
The major drug trafficking operation involving smuggling of heroin from Afghanistan into India was unearthed in July 2021 when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted two containers at the Nhava Sheva port, imported from Afghanistan by Sandhu Exports. The containers, listed as carrying semi-processed talc stones, were found to contain heroin cleverly concealed in six gunny bags amidst the legitimate cargo. Upon inspection, the DRI officers, working in collaboration with the National Customs Targeting Centre and the Nhava Sheva Customs team, found 293.81 kg of heroin, valued at over Rs. 2,000 crore in the international market. The heroin, packed in the gunny bags, was chemically tested and confirmed, leading to the immediate seizure of the drugs under the NDPS Act, 1985.
The syndicate's operations were not limited to this single consignment. During further investigations, 352.71 kg of heroin was seized by the Delhi Police Special Cell from vehicles and a flat in Faridabad, Haryana, bringing the total haul from this drug network to a staggering 646.52 kg, the financial probe agency reported.
The ED's investigation under the PMLA aims to trace the financial trails left by these operations, revealing the extensive money laundering network used to channel profits from drug sales into seemingly legitimate businesses.
According to the official statement, the ED has identified multiple bank accounts, cash transactions, and operational expenses linked to the activities of a drug syndicate. This organisation used layering and integration techniques to disguise the origins of its illicit funds and funnel them into legitimate financial operations.
It was also disclosed that the accused did not make any payments to Afghan suppliers until the drugs were sold in the local market. Cash transactions were made to acquire multiple vehicles — including models like Toyota Fortuner, Etios, and Hyundai Verna — in the second-hand market for moving between storage hubs and distribution points.
Additionally, the ED's investigation revealed that cash was used to purchase high-end smartphones, and encrypted communication apps were employed to coordinate smuggling activities. Drugs imported from Iran and Afghanistan were typically routed through Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai, stored in a rented godown in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, and subsequently distributed across Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana in smaller quantities of 10 kg to evade detection by law enforcement agencies.
