Hearing adjourned in Jaffer’s PMLA case

CHENNAI: The special court for CBI in Chennai adjourned the hearing of alleged drug kingpin Jaffer Sadiq’s bail plea for the submission of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

On Thursday, the special court for CBI heard the bail plea moved by Jaffer Sadiq and his brother Mohammed Saleem.

Also Read: Special court adjourns drug ‘kingpin’ Jaffer Sadiq’s bail plea in money laundering case

Senior counsels R John Sathyan and Abudu Kumar Rajaratnam appeared for the petitioners. They submitted that the enforcement agency violated the quintessential principle of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India, 2022, set down by the Supreme Court.

The counsels argued that the enforcement had registered the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Jaffer Sadiq and Mohammed Saleem without establishing the proceeds of the crime, which is against the law set by the Supreme Court.

Also Read: Jaffer Sadiq’s movie, real estate business flourished from drug money, says ED

Further, the enforcement directorate had roped in the properties bought by the brothers before the check period as the proceeds of crime; hence, the counsels sought bail on the grounds that the petitioners would cooperate with the investigation if enlarged on bail.

After the submission, the court posted the matter to Monday for the enforcement agency’s submission.

On March 9 this year, the Delhi unit of the central agency Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested Jaffer Sadiq for his key role in the alleged trafficking of Pseudoedpherine and other narcotics, to the international drug markets, including Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand. Jaffer had previously held the post of deputy organiser of the DMK NRI wing for Chennai West.

Meanwhile, the ED registered an ECIR against Jaffer, alleging a money laundering offence connected to the drug trafficking case and also roped in Mohammed Saleem under the investigation.