India News | ED Questions Jaffer Sadiq's Wife in Drugs-linked Money-laundering Case

Chennai, Jul 16 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned the wife of expelled DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq as part of a narcotics-linked money-laundering investigation, official sources said.

Amina was interrogated at the agency's zonal office here and it is understood that her statement was recorded by the investigating officer of the case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

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The session ended early as she sought an exemption due to personal issues. She may be summoned again, the sources said.

A court here on Tuesday allowed the ED to take Sadiq (36) into its custody for three days in connection with the case.

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Sadiq was arrested by the federal agency on June 26 from Delhi's Tihar Jail, where he was lodged in judicial custody in a case registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Sadiq was first arrested by the NCB in March for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of about 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine with a street value of more than Rs 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 into "cross-border illegal trade of narcotic substances".

Sadiq, purportedly the mastermind behind an international drug-trafficking syndicate, stands accused of smuggling pseudoephedrine camouflaged as health-mix powder and desiccated coconut to Australia and New Zealand, the ED had said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)