Enforcement Directorate.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹1.22 crore of Jasmeet Hakimzada, an international drug trafficker operating from Gulf countries, who is also wanted by the United States and is closely linked with the proscribed terror outfit Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).
The accused has been designated as a “Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker” under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act by the U.S. and is also listed as a Specially Designated National by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. Department of the Treasury. He is accused of being an associate of Pakistan-based KLF chief Harmeet Singh alias PhD.
The ED probe is based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Hakimzada and others under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The agency alleged that Hakimzada is currently operating from Dubai and has a narco-terror network in India. “He routed proceeds of crime generated through drug trafficking activities of the Khalistan Liberation Force, to Dubai via ‘hawala’ channels with the help of full-fledged money changers based in Amritsar,” it said.
During a search operation on August 27, 2024, the ED traced the secret bank lockers in the names of Hakimzada and his wife in Delhi. The lockers contained 1.06 kg of unaccounted gold and 370g of diamond jewellery, which were seized by the agency.
As it turned out, the accused deposited cash generated through drug trafficking into bank accounts in India. The funds were subsequently used to buy properties in Gurugram (Haryana) in his name. Those properties have been provisionally attached by the ED.
Published – April 07, 2025 09:11 pm IST