ED searches 5 locations in Delhi, NCR, Jaipur linked to cocaine trafficking case, seizes ₹70 lakh cash

The Enforcement Directorate's Delhi Zonal Office conducted searches at five locations across Delhi, NCR, and Jaipur on November 14 in connection with a case involving narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

The agency has confiscated ₹70 lakh in cash, along with incriminating documents, digital devices, and financial records, according to ANI. Following the searches, authorities also froze 110 "mule" bank accounts and discovered the use of cryptocurrency wallets based in Dubai, PTI reported on Sunday.

Mule bank accounts are often used to move illegal funds and are frequently opened by misusing real customer IDs or using counterfeit ones.

The raids took place on 14 November after the federal investigation agency received a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) complaint from November 2024 regarding the seizure of 82.53 kg of "high-grade" cocaine. The seized party drug was valued at ₹900 crore by the NCB, and five individuals were arrested by the central anti-narcotics agency.

"The searches indicated an online betting and gambling network being operated through mobile-based applications. The operation resulted in the freezing of 110 mule bank accounts, including 73 linked with UPI IDs and digital wallets that were actively being used for handling transactions related to the betting operations," the report quoted an ED statement.

Cocaine worth ₹17.18 crore confiscated in Mumbai Airport

On the same day, officials reported a similar incident when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) confiscated 1,718 grams of cocaine worth ₹17.18 crore from a Tanzanian woman at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). The woman had arrived from Entebbe in Uganda.

Explaining the incident, an official told PTI, “On specific intelligence about cocaine smuggling, an operation was conducted on Thursday. The woman was intercepted upon her arrival at the airport. A thorough examination of her baggage revealed two food packets containing white powder, one plastic container with white powder, and a pouch containing pellets of white powdery substance.”

The official further said, “two capsules that had been ingested by the passenger in an attempt to smuggle the narcotics internally were also recovered. The recovered substances tested positive for cocaine using NDPS field test kits, after which she was arrested under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.”