ED arrests pharma bizman for generating ₹3.75cr through drug trafficking

The accused, identified as Abhishek Kumar, has been apprehended under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act

The Enforcement Directorate, Jalandhar, has arrested a pharmaceutical businessman for allegedly acquiring proceeds of crime worth ₹3.75 crore through illegal sale of psychotropic tablets.

The Enforcement Directorate, Jalandhar, had initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Punjab Police under various sections of the NDPS Act. (HT)

The accused, identified as Abhishek Kumar, has been apprehended under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

He was produced before the special PMLA court in Mohali and sent to six-day ED custody.

The directorate had initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Punjab Police under various sections of the NDPS Act relating to the large-scale inter-state trafficking of psychotropic tablets and capsules, particularly tramadol and alprazolam.

Thereafter, a search action was conducted at 16 premises linked with Abhishek Kumar and other entities, which resulted in seizure of various incriminating records in June this year.

The ED spokesperson said probe revealed that the middle men viz wholesalers and retailers were procuring huge quantities of psychotropic tablets from pharmaceutical firms/manufacturing companies, namely M/s Biogenetic Drugs Pvt Ltd, M/s CB Healthcare, M/s Smilax Pharmachem Drug Industries, M/s Aster Pharma, M/s Soul Health Care (I) Pvt Ltd, and were diverting it for sale in black market at high cost than the retail price, through drug peddlers, thereby generating huge Proceeds of Crime (POC).

“In order to conceal these illicit transactions, the corresponding boxes were shown as legal sales by inflating the number of boxes in the legal bills, thereby generating POC to the tune of ₹3.75 crore in cash,” the ED spokesperson said.