New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Wednesday, conducted searches at multiple locations in Delhi as part of its ongoing probe into alleged money-laundering connected to the huge 2021 drug seizure at Mundra port in Gujarat, officials said.
Sources said the ED carried out raids at five premises in the national capital under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The properties include addresses linked to businessman Harpreet Singh Talwar, also known as Kabir Talwar, as well as others named Shamshudeen and others, PTI reported.
Talwar — who is known for running several well-known nightclubs across Delhi — was previously taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency in August 2022 in relation to the case. He was recently granted bail by the Gujarat High Court and released.
The probe traces back to one of the world’s largest narcotics seizures, when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence intercepted 2,988.21 kilograms of heroin at Mundra port in September 2021. Authorities have alleged the consignment originated in Afghanistan and was routed through Iran, and estimated its value on the international black market at about ₹21,000 crore.
The ED opened a money-laundering investigation later that year. Officials said the latest searches were prompted by fresh intelligence indicating that proceeds from the trafficking network may have been invested into nightlife businesses operating in Delhi.
Investigators are now scrutinising financial records and assets to establish whether money generated from the heroin consignment was laundered through legitimate enterprises.
In its chargesheet, the NIA alleged that gains from the drug network were diverted to support activities of the Pakistan-based banned organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The agency also alleged that the heroin shipment had been concealed within a legitimate import declared as semi-processed talc stones — a commodity commonly used across industries.
The inquiry into the financial links and the broader network associated with the Mundra seizure remains active.
