CHENNAI: One of the 21 businesses of Jaffer Sadiq, in which the alleged proceeds of the international drug trafficking operations were infused, supplied geometry boxes and school bags to a contractor of the Tamil Nadu Text Book Corporation, the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) probe has found.
An expelled DMK leader, Sadiq is set to face trial for trafficking controlled substances such as pseudoephedrine and ketamine to Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia and amassing huge wealth through it. ED filed a chargesheet against Sadiq and 11 others including his brother Saleem and other associates before a special court in Chennai recently.
Sources said that Coalescence Ventures, a partnership firm of Sadiq established in December 2020 with his business partner S Ramesh, procured goods from Matrix, a Noida-based company and sold it to Sri Appu Direct, a Cuddalore-based contractor of TN Textbook Corporation.
While Appu Direct is not arraigned as an accused, a follow-up probe by ED has found evidence of the firm’s officials paying bribes to top officials of the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments. An email seeking comment from the firm did not yield any response. Sadiq had invested `40 lakh in cash and given Rs 1-1.5 crore to Ramesh to be infused in Coalescence Ventures in the December 2022-January 2023 period, the source of which was narcotics trade, sources said. The profit sharing was decided to be 51:49 in favour of Sadiq, sources added.
The sale of the goods to Sri Appu Direct were routed through Green Cosmic Infra, a shell company owned by Ramesh. This circular trading of goods from Matrix to Coalescence to Green Cosmic Infra to Sri Appu Direct has been deemed as a modus operandi to launder the alleged proceeds of crime, sources said quoting the ED’s probe.
Probes found that while Ramesh handled the day-to-day affairs of Coalescence, the bank account for the firm was opened and operated by Sadiq’s brother Saleem, who would also get all the OTPs and other details on his mobile phone.
Incidentally, Ramesh has also been identified by ED and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) as the person who had tried to arrange persons who Sadiq could send to Australia to handle his business there, sources said. ED’s analysis found that of the money invested by Ramesh, `15 lakh was sent to his account by Suresh Mohan, who was one of the men whom Sadiq tried to send to New Zealand to handle his drug business there.