ED attaches Rs 1.20 crore worth of properties in inter-state drug trafficking, money laundering case

Agartala (Tripura) [India], March 28 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) Agartala Sub Zonal Office has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth approximately Rs 1.20 crore belonging to Anamika Majumder, wife of accused Dhruba Majumder, and Apu Ranjan Das under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with an inter-state drug trafficking and money laundering case.

The action has been taken against Debabrata Dey, Dhruba Majumder, Apu Ranjan Das, and others. According to a press release by ED, Apu Ranjan Das is a "habitual offender with multiple cases registered against him, and non-bailable warrants have been issued by courts in several of those cases due to his non-appearance."
The ED initiated its investigation under PMLA, 2002, based on two FIRs registered by Tripura Police -- one by Panisagar Police Station involving the seizure of 1,352 kg of dry Ganja/Cannabis concealed in the cabin of a vehicle, and another by Mungiakami Police Station involving the seizure of 14,400 bottles of Phensedyl Cough Linctus containing Codeine Phosphate exceeding commercial quantity -- under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The ED investigation revealed that Debabrata Dey, a habitual drug trafficker charge-sheeted in two separate NDPS cases, along with Dhruba Majumder -- a serving police officer from Tripura -- and other co-accused, operated an organised inter-state racket for the illegal procurement, transportation, and supply of Ganja/Cannabis and Codeine-based narcotic substances across state boundaries. The contraband was concealed in specially created cavities within commercial vehicles and also transported using Indian Railways.
The proceeds of crime generated from this illicit trafficking were deposited as cash in multiple bank accounts held in the names of the accused and their business entities, the ED said.
Dhruba Majumder, the serving police officer named as a co-accused, allegedly deposited large sums of cash in his bank accounts and used the proceeds of crime to purchase immovable properties in the name of his wife, according to the ED. Further investigation is underway, the agency said. (ANI)