Chennai raid: ED nabs smuggler for shipping sandalwood to Dubai

New Delhi, May 26 In a crackdown against smuggling of Red Sanders to Dubai, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested a smuggler from Chennai after searching two premises in connection with illegal shipping of the banned wood worth Rs 68 crore, an official said on Monday.

Abdul Jaffer, on the run for the past four years and not appearing in court despite summons in deliberate disregard of the judicial proceedings, was arrested by ED’s Nagpur Sub-Zonal Office, the official said.

The search operations were carried out in Chennai on May 22 to unearth illegal activities of a syndicate involved in large-scale smuggling of Red Sanders to Dubai by way of replacing the declared sponge iron in containers with Red Sanders.

The search operations unravelled several properties in the form of land, buildings, flats and high-end vehicles acquired by the accused out of the proceeds of crime, which runs into crores of rupees, including other incriminating materials, said the official.

After his arrest, Jaffer was brought to Nagpur by ED investigators under a Transit Remand issued by the Jurisdiction Court at Chennai.

In Nagpur on Saturday, he was produced before the Special Court (PMLA), which sent him to ED custody till May 28, said a statement.

The ED initiated an investigation based on a Prosecution Complaint filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Nagpur, under Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962, against Jaffer and others.

The ED said investigation revealed that Jaffer had smuggled out as many as 13 consignments of Red Sanders to Dubai by replacing sponge iron, which was being exported by a Raipur-based entity.

The value of total smuggled Red Sanders is Rs 68 crore, excluding a consignment intercepted and seized by the DRI, the official said.

The ED said Jaffer’s name had figured in several other smuggling cases of Red Sanders, which were investigated by other units of DRI.

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