NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted raids at five locations across Chennai and Madurai in connection with an alleged drug smuggling cartel accused of trafficking narcotics worth over Rs 258 crore to Sri Lanka through sea routes, the agency said.
The searches were carried out as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the seizure of 99 kg of hashish and 37.5 kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as ICE, with estimated market values of Rs 108 crore and Rs 150 crore respectively.
The federal probing agency said John Britto is the alleged mastermind of the syndicate and a habitual offender with established contacts in Sri Lanka. Britto recruited fishermen and boat owners to transport narcotics through Indian waters, supplying them to Sri Lankan contacts in the open sea, in a method designed to evade coastal surveillance.
The agency said it initiated the money laundering investigation on the basis of two criminal complaints filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against John Britto and others under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Customs Act.
In the first case, the DRI had seized 99 kg of hashish from a fishing boat on March 5, 2024, in the deep-sea region of the Gulf of Mannar, acting on inputs from the Indian Coast Guard. Three accused, Ramish, Jansan and Prathap, were arrested for transporting the drugs on Britto’s directives.
In the second case, Britto’s associate Phillomen Prakash was arrested at Madurai Railway Station on March 1, 2024, while carrying 37.645 kg of methamphetamine. During the probe, the investigative agency found that the drugs were meant for trafficking to Sri Lanka.
The federal probing agency said it has seized incriminating documents related to a wider network operating in the region. It is also investigating hawala routes through which money was paid to middlemen and traffickers.
