The ED sought 15 days of custody of Sadiq. The accused claimed ED officials forced him to name 3-4 influential persons to be arraigned in the case.
Published Jul 16, 2024 | 11:41 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 16, 2024 | 11:41 AM
Jaffer Sadiq. (X)
A Chennai court on Monday, 15 July, remanded sacked DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq to judicial custody till 29 July, in a money laundering case registered against him by the ED.
Sadiq has been involved in a prominent case involving drug trafficking and money laundering. It is claimed that Sadiq was first taken into custody by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in March for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of about 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine with a street value of more than ₹2,000 crore.
The money laundering case stems from separate NCB and Customs department complaints filed against Sadiq and his partners on charges of indulging in “cross-border illegal trade of narcotics substances”. He had already been placed under judicial custody at Tihar Jail.
However, he was later detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on allegations of money laundering connected to drugs. It is anticipated that he will be sent to Chennai for additional legal processes related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Sadiq was produced before Principal Sessions Judge S Alli by the Enforcement Directorate. A Delhi court had earlier given him bail in a narcotics case.
The ED sought 15 days of custody of Sadiq. The accused claimed ED officials forced him to name 3-4 influential persons to be arraigned in the case.
The judge, while remanding Sadiq to judicial custody till 29 July, said the ED’s plea for his custody will be taken up on Tuesday, 16 July.
According to an India Today report, Sadiq had told the agency that he gave ₹5 lakh to Udhayanidhi Stalin as funds to help during the flood last year and the remaining ₹2 lakh was given as funds for the party.
According to the same report, the NCB is trying to ascertain the source of the ₹7 lakhs, and is seeking ED’s help for the same.
When he was arrested in March, BJP Mahila Morcha chief Vanathi Srinivasan targeted Stalin and alleged that “it seems” the Tamil Nadu chief minister’s family members are closely associated with the accused.
“Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, daughter-in-law of Chief Minister MK Stalin has directed a film produced by Jaffer Sadiq. All his social media posts show how close he was with Tamil Nadu sports minister (Udayanidhi Stalin), son of MK Stalin,” she told a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Chennai.
“Some of the ruling party (DMK) ministers seem to be very close to Jaffer,” she alleged and demanded that Stalin explain his relationship with the alleged “mastermind” of a trans-national pseudoephedrine smuggling racket.
“We believe that Jaffer Sadiq used all his political connections in illicit drug trafficking in various countries. It seems that while being an office-bearer of the ruling party (DMK), he developed a very strong network with the police. In one picture, DGP is seen presenting some kind of award to this accused,” Srinivasan said.
After Jaffer Sadiq’s arrest, NCB deputy director general (operations) Gyaneshwar Singh told reporters here that Sadiq’s linkages with the Tamil and Hindi film industries and some “high-profile” people apart from some instances of “political funding” were under the scanner of the agency.
(With inputs from Nitika and PTI)
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