Dehradun: ED files chargesheet against drug lord’s wife

Dehradun, Dec 29 Presenting fresh evidence, the ED filed a third chargesheet before a Special Court (PMLA), Dehradun, naming the wife of a member of an international drug trafficking organisation in a case related to illegal assets, an official said.

Amarpreet Kaur Chawla, wife of Banmeet Singh, was named in the fresh set of charges filed on December 24 in the Special Court (PMLA), the official said in a statement.

During the investigation, the ED detected that many of the immovable properties bought by the drug trafficking organisation with Proceeds of Crime (POC) were registered in Amanpreet Kaur’s name.

“Based upon these findings, the ED has also issued a Provisional Attachment Order in this case for assets totalling Rs 9.68 crore on July 18, 2024, under the provisions of PMLA, 2002,” said the ED statement.

The ED initiated an investigation based on the Mutual Legal Assistance request by the US authorities invoking a unique provision of section 2(ra) of PMLA, 2002, implying an offence of cross-border implications.

The scheduled offences correspond to the NDPS Act. Two brothers, Banmeet Singh and Parvinder Singh, along with others, were operating an international drug trafficking group named the Singh DTO (Drug Trafficking Organisation).

“They used vendor marketing sites on the dark web, numerous free advertisements on clear web websites, and a network of narcotics and controlled substance distributors and distribution cells to sell drugs in the US, the UK and other European countries,” the ED said.

The Singh Organisation received the drug trafficking proceeds through sale on dark web markets, then laundered those proceeds through cryptocurrency transactions, the ED said.

Both brothers used monikers "Liston" on a variety of dark web markets, including Silk Road 1, Alpha Bay and Hansa, the ED said.

Till now, the ED in the earlier searches, seized 268.22 Bitcoins (approx.), equivalent to the value of Rs 130 crore, based on the information provided by Parvinder Singh, who is currently in judicial custody along with his brother.

Earlier, the ED filed Prosecution Complaints against the main accused Parvinder Singh and Banmeet Singh on June 24, 2024 and July 26, 2024, on which the Special Court (PMLA), Dehradun, has already taken cognisance on July 2, 2024 and July 27, 2024, respectively.

The Court has already framed the charges against Banmeet Singh through its order dated March 22, 2025.

--IANS

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