Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 9: A Tamil film producer and former DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq, said to be on the run for the last 25 days, has been arrested for allegedly smuggling drugs worth over ₹ 2,000 crore out of India, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said on Saturday.
The NCB has named Sadiq the “kingpin” of the India-Australia-New Zealand drugs trafficking network, who smuggled ₹ 2,000-crore drugs to Australia and New Zealand. “He has sent 3,500 kg pseudoephedrine in 45 parcels to Australia,” said Gyaneshwar Singh, NCB Deputy Director General. Pseudoephedrine was sent abroad concealed in coconuts and dry fruits. It is used in the production of methamphetamine, or crystal meth, and is a controlled substance in India.
Sadiq, a former DMK functionary who was expelled from the party after his role in the drug racket came to light, had been absconding since February 15 after three of his associates were arrested in Delhi. A top officer confirmed that Sadiq was apprehended from a hotel in Jaipur, Rajasthan in the early hours of Saturday. Sadiq had escaped to Jaipur via Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad, he said.
He amassed crores by drug smuggling and invested the drug money in real estate and film production, including his latest Mangai. He used the drug money to also buy a hotel, added Mr Singh. Sadiq has made four films so far with one of them expected to be released this month.
His arrest came a week after officers seized methamphetamine worth ₹ 180 crore from two rail passengers in Madurai and a dump yard in Chennai. The drugs were to be smuggled into Sri Lanka. A total of 36 kg was seized from the passenger couple and another 6 kg from Kodungaiyur dump yard in Chennai on February 29, officials said. The couple was detained after the seizure.
Methamphetamine, also known as “ice” or “crystal meth”, is a highly addictive psychostimulant drug that exhibits powerful euphoric effects similar to those of cocaine and has life-threatening consequences, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had said.
A few months ago, the NCB Headquarters, New Delhi, began an investigation following information received from New Zealand customs authorities and the Australian police that large quantities of pseudoephedrine, concealed in desiccated coconut powder, were being sent to both countries from India. Further inputs from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicated that the source of the consignments was Delhi.
Pseudoephedrine is used to make methamphetamine, a drug that has the highest demand in the world at present, and sells for approximately ₹1.5 crore per kilogram in Australia and New Zealand. After a four-month investigation, a joint team comprising officers of the NCB and the Delhi Police found out that the operatives of the cartel in Delhi were planning to send another consignment to Australia. The US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation is also cooperating with the Indian agency in the drugs probe.
Two weeks ago, the team was led to a godown in Basai Darapur, West Delhi, where they found persons packing pseudoephedrine into covers within a consignment of a multigrain food mix. The sleuths recovered 50 kilograms of pseudoephedrine and arrested three operatives of the cartel, identified as Mukesh, 34, Mujibur Rahman, 26, and Ashok Kumar, 33, of Villupuram. The trio revealed that they had sent abroad, 45 consignments of drugs over the past three years, weighing a total of 3,500 kilograms and worth around ₹2,000 crore in the international market.
The investigation revealed that Sadiq alias Bezos, 36, a Chennai resident and Tamil film producer, was the mastermind of the nexus. The Narcotics Control Bureau has called Jaffer Sadiq the “mastermind and kingpin” of a drugs syndicate spread between India, Australia, and New Zealand. He entered politics in 2010 and was the Chennai West deputy organiser of the DMK’s NRI wing. Sadiq was expelled by the DMK last month over his alleged involvement in drug smuggling. BJP state chief K Annamalai recently shared his photos with several politicians, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and state minister Udhayanidhi Stalin.
He claims in his social media bio that he founded the JSM Group of Companies. He was earlier associated with real estate business. Sadiq has made three movies, Iraivan Miga Periyavan, Maayavalai, and Mangai, under the JSM Pictures banner. A fourth one – VR07 – is expected to be released soon. The NCB has alleged that Sadiq used drug money to produce Mangai.
Following the drug bust, BJP state chief K Annamalai had lashed out at the ruling DMK and said Tamil Nadu has become the drug capital of India. “International drug lord and a DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq is on the run. The NCB is raiding DMK functionaries’ establishments. ₹ 1,200 crore worth en route to Tamil Nadu caught off the coast of Gujarat, and today 30 kgs of methamphetamine were caught in transit in Madurai by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,” he had said in an online post.