ED charge sheet against Jaffar Sadiq

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against expelled DMK functionary and film producer Jaffer Sadiq, accusing him of running an international drug trafficking syndicate for over a decade. According to the 250-page charge sheet, Jaffer laundered profits through film productions and other business ventures such as dry fruit exports, real estate and more. The ED has now charged him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Jaffer, who was expelled from the DMK in February, fell on March 9 this year. The alleged kingpin is said to have smuggled ketamine and pseudoephedrine to Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand by pretending to be bangles, dried coconut, health potions, magnesium sulfate etc. At the time of his arrest, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) recovered 50 kg of pseudoephedrine from his associated export companies with it. Pseudoephedrine is a chemical commonly found in over-the-counter cold medicines that contains methamphetamine. According to the indictment, the Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB) “Export” also confiscated over 38 kg of ketamine. Customs in Chennai had earlier seized another 50 kg of pseudoephedrine.

The charge sheet states that Jaffer spent at least Rs 6.3 crore of drug trafficking profits on film making alone. Another Rs 33 crore was allegedly found in various bank accounts linked to him and his family, while over Rs 10 crore was transferred through a financier named Marimuthu.

Moreover, actor-director Ameer Sulthan has been named as accused number 12 in the chargesheet. Several members of Jaffer’s family were also charged, including his wife, father and brothers. Apart from acting as proxies for owners of properties purchased with proceeds from drug sales and holding bank accounts with profits from drug trafficking, their names were also used to generate international export codes (IECs), the ED alleged.

MO of the cartel

The inspectorate discovered a total of six bemani companies involved in the export of medicines under the guise of foodstuffs, bracelets or health formulas: Aventa Company, Ganesha Chemicals, Krishna Chemicals, Samy Stores, Cube Impex and Sakthi Enterprises. These surrogate companies exported the drugs to nine different entities in Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.

In 2015, 76 bags marked as magnesium sulphate bound for Malaysia were scanned at the Air Cargo Complex (ACC) in Chennai. Two of the bags showed abnormalities, and tests revealed that the substance pretending to be magnesium sulfate was actually pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (commonly called pseudoephedrine). Legal export of pseudoephedrine requires a No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the NCB Commissioner.

In 2018, over 38 kg of ketamine was seized from the premises of five companies in Mumbai. The ketamine was allegedly hidden in boxes containing bracelets intended for export to Kuala Lumpur.

This year, 50 kg of pseudoephedrine was seized again, this time by the Delhi NCB. The drug was found in three gunny bags marked as flour and was waiting to be smuggled into Australia. This seizure ultimately led to Jaffer’s arrest.

Four of Jaffer’s cartel advisers – Mukesh PU, Ashok Kumar, Mujeepur Rahaman R and Sathananatham – allegedly sought out financially distressed people and loaned their identities in exchange for small sums of money. These proxies would then be used to open bank accounts and rental agreements.

For communication purposes, SIM cards were issued to cartel members and destroyed after being used to install WhatsApp.

Moreover, a total of 21 companies linked to Jaffer were detected, ranging from iron and steel to investment companies to dry fruit exports. These companies were run solely for the purpose of laundering contraband funds, the ED alleged, adding that neither Jaffer nor his accused family members had the expertise required to run such ventures.

Extensive network

A total of 12 people are accused, including Jaffer. Mohammad Saleem, identified as Jaffer’s deputy, is directly accused of smuggling 38,867 kg of ketamine confiscated by customs officials in Mumbai.

Mukesh, the third accused, had been dealing drugs for Jaffer for at least a decade. Accused No. 4, Mujeepur, was responsible for finding agents whose identities could be used to register the export companies. Like Mukesh, he was also responsible for packaging and concealing drugs and facilitating their export.

The chargesheet shows that SG Sathananatham, the fifth defendant, sent multiple shipments containing pseudoephedrine to Malaysia through proxy companies.

According to the ED, accused No. 7 Mydeen Gani, Jaffer’s younger brother, is another “key member” of the cartel. His activities allegedly range from smuggling to money laundering through film production and real estate. The company is one of 21 ventures that the ED said were used to launder cartel money.

Jaffer’s wife, Ameena Banu (accused 8), was charged with failing to raise suspicions about the cartel and allowing her bank accounts to be used for money laundering and acting as an attorney for properties purchased with drug money. Jaffer’s father, Abdul Raheem Jinnah (accused no. 9), was the director of one of the cartel’s many drug packaging facilities.

But the most notable name in the list of other accused is Tamil actor-director Ameer Sulthan.

Drug money laundered during filming?

According to the chargesheet, the profits obtained from drug smuggling were diverted as payments to directors, technicians, actors and others, while at least Rs 6.3 crore was used for film production alone. Apart from Jaffer’s production house, JSM Pictures, which has produced six films, another company with a similar name, JSM Pictures (OPC) Private Limited, stands out.

Jaffer told ED that JSM Pictures (OPC) is a paper company “established to funnel money generated from films back and forth.” However, the charge sheet indicated that there was only one financial transaction in the company’s bank accounts. It was allegedly a payment of Rs 2 lakh to the hugely popular composer Yuvan Shankar Raja.

JSM Pictures produced six films, one of which is the so-called Iraivan Miga Periyavan, director Ameer’s fifth film to be released this year and written by director Vetrimaaran. Ameer allegedly claimed during interrogation that Jaffer discussed remuneration with Vetrimaaran but had no further knowledge of it. The announcement also said that the music for the film will be composed by Yuvan.