Overview

• The Enforcement Directorate issued a provisional attachment covering immovable property and high-end vehicles tied to the alleged smuggling network.
• Abdul Jaffer, arrested on May 22 under the PMLA, remains in judicial custody, with a prosecution complaint filed in the Nagpur PMLA court on July 18.
• Properties identified span Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Dindigul and Thiruvallur, with several registered in the names of Jaffer’s wife, children and associates.
• ED cites mobile-phone extractions, call detail records and statements from transporters, labourers and clearing agents to link Jaffer, AF Enterprises and the laundering of proceeds.
• The case stems from 2016 DRI actions that exposed 13 consignments moving 159.11 tonnes of red sanders via Nagpur and Raipur after being misdeclared as sponge iron, with seizures also at Nhava Sheva.