The Delhi Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted search operations at 10 locations across Delhi, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mumbai, Solapur, and Indore in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

“The actions pertain to the case involving Jasmeet Hakimzada, a 45-year-old international drug trafficker based in Gulf countries. Hakimzada has been designated a ‘Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker’ under the US Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,” the ED said in a release.

Moreover, Hakimzada is also listed in the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List.

He is reportedly linked to the proscribed terrorist organisation Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) and was allegedly associated with Harmeet Singh, the Pakistan-based self-styled chief of KLF, ED added.

The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Hakimzada and others. The FIR charges them under various Sections of the UAPA, 1967, and the NDPS Act, 1985, for engaging in unlawful activities and drug trafficking.

The ED’s investigation uncovered that Hakimzada, who resides in Dubai, was managing a narco-terror network in India. He was funnelling the proceeds of crime (POC) from drug trafficking operations conducted by the proscribed terrorist organisation Khalistan Liberation Force through hawala channels to Dubai. This operation involved full-fledged money changers (FFMCs) located in Amritsar.

The investigation further revealed that drug peddlers working under Hakimzada’s control deposited cash into various bank accounts held by him in India. The funds deposited in these accounts were subsequently used to acquire high-value items and real-estate properties in Gurugram.

During the search operations, the ED uncovered secret bank lockers in the names of Hakimzada and his wife in Delhi. These lockers contained 1.06 kg of unaccounted gold and 370 gm of diamond ornaments. All the seized jewellery were confiscated by the ED during the operation.