NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI/NEW DELHI, MARCH 9
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested Tamil Nadu politician and movie producer Jaffer Sadiq in connection with an international drug trafficking network.
An NCB official later held a press conference and said that Jaffer Sadiq earned huge amount of money through drug trafficking and invested it into multiple industries such as films, construction and hospitality to cover up his crimes. The NCB official also said that Jaffer Sadiq’s crime spread from India to Australia to New Zealand.
Deputy Director General NCB Gyaneshwar Singh said, “Jaffer Sadiq, who was running the international drug trafficking network, his drug racket spread from New Delhi, Tamil Nadu and other places in India to New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Deputy Director General NCB Gyaneshwar Singh says, "Jaffer Sadiq, who was running the international drug trafficking network, his drug racket spread from New Delhi, Tamil Nadu and other places in India to New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia. The accused earned a… pic.twitter.com/a42cQqgLAi
— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2024
“The accused earned a lot through drug trafficking and invested in multiple industries such as film, construction, hospitality etc and was using it as a cover business. Based on Specific Intelligence, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday arrested,” the official said.
Sadiq allegedly ran the drug ring, which facilitated the trafficking of pseudoephedrine from India to Australia and New Zealand. Pseudoephedrine is controlled substance in India under the NDPS Act, 1985, and a precursor chemical used in manufacturing methamphetamine.
Sadiq’s arrest comes two weeks after three people from Tamil Nadu were apprehended at a warehouse in West Delhi’s Basai Darapur.
Jaffer Sadiq alias Bezo has produced five Tamil movies and was a former DMK leader. He served as the Chennai West Deputy Organiser of DMK’s NRI Wing. He was expelled by the Tamil Nadu ruling party on February 25 after his links to the drug trafficking group were revealed. NCB has sealed his house in Mylapore on February 29.
NCB arrested Sadiq based on information provided by Australian and New Zealand authorities. Pseudoephedrine were trafficked to the two countries by concealing them in desiccated coconut powder, according to the authorities. The US Drug Enforcement Administration found out the source of the consignments was Delhi.
An NCB teamed up with Delhi Police’s Special Cell to launch a probe about more than months ago. They busted the drug trafficking racket on February 15 and around 50 kg pseudoephedrine was seized. It was revealed that the cartel had trafficked 3,500 kg of the drug in 45 consignments via air and sea over the last three years.
