Enforcement Directorate conducts searches in ₹5,600-crore drug seizure case

Enforcement Directorate conducts searches in Delhi and Mumbai linked to ₹5,600 crore drug seizure, arrests main accused.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday (October 11, 2024) conducted searches in and around Delhi and Mumbai in connection with the recent seizure of drugs, including over 560-kg cocaine, worth about ₹5,600 crore by the Delhi Police Special Cell.

The ED is conducting the probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, against main accused Tushar Goel along with Himanshu Kumar, Aurangzeb Siddiqui, and Bharat Kumar. All the four were arrested by the police.

According to the ED, Tushar Goel alias Dikki had stored the consignment at his family-owned godown in Delhi’s Mahipalpur. He had visited Dubai and Thailand in June and met his other associates to plan the movement and distribution of narcotic drugs. “It is also revealed that the accused Tushar Goel was (operating) in connivance with a Dubai-based mastermind who has previously also been linked with the supply of cocaine and other narcotic and psychotropic substances,” said the agency.

The agency searched the residential premises of Tushar Goel in Vasant Enclave and Rajouri Garden and his associates Himanshu Kumar and Bharat Kumar in Prem Nagar and Nalasolpara in Mumbai. Searches were also carried out on the business premises of the companies, Tushar Books Publication Private Limited, Tulip Publications Private Limited and ABN Buildtech Private Limited in Delhi’s Jhandewalan area and also in Gurugram.

“These companies are owned and controlled by Tushar Goel and his family members. The searches have resulted in the recovery of key financial documents which have details of the financial activities of the accused as well as the details regarding the movable and immovable properties of the accused and their family members,” said the ED.

The search operation followed another seizure of over 200-kg cocaine by the police from a shop located in Ramesh Nagar (Delhi). It is suspected that the contraband had been sent through the same Dubai-linked network.