Who Was Arrested by ED in Punjab's Drug Trafficking Case?
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Key Takeaways
New Delhi, Dec 10 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) from the Jalandhar Zonal Office has apprehended an individual allegedly involved in the creation and acquisition of Proceeds of Crime through the illicit sale of psychotropic tablets, including Tramadol and Alprazolam, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, as stated by the ED on Wednesday.
The arrested individual is Abhishek Kumar, who was taken into custody on Tuesday.
As per the ED's report, he was presented before the Special Court (PMLA) 2002 in SAS Nagar, which subsequently granted the ED six days of custody of the accused.
The investigation was initiated following a FIR lodged by the Punjab Police under several sections of the NDPS Act 1985, which pertains to widespread inter-state trafficking of psychotropic tablets and capsules, notably Tramadol and Alprazolam.
A search was conducted at 16 locations associated with Abhishek Kumar and other related entities, leading to the discovery of numerous incriminating documents.
The ED revealed that intermediaries, including wholesalers and retailers, were acquiring substantial quantities of psychotropic tablets from pharmaceutical companies such as M/s Biogenetic Drugs Pvt. Ltd., M/s CB Healthcare, M/s Smilax Pharmachem Drug Industries, M/s Aster Pharma, and M/s Soul Health Care (I) Pvt. Ltd., and were redirecting them for black market sales at inflated prices through drug peddlers, thus generating significant Proceeds of Crime (POC).
Through his firm, M/s Shree Shyam Medical Agency, Abhishek Kumar acquired large quantities of these psychotropic tablets and illegally sold approximately 75% of this stock off the books.
To disguise these illicit activities, the relevant shipments were falsely documented as legal sales by overstating the quantity on official invoices, which resulted in POC amounting to ₹3.75 Crore in cash.
The ED confirmed that further investigations are currently ongoing.