The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted search operations at five locations across Chennai and Madurai on May 26 in connection with a major drug smuggling syndicate with international links.
According to a statement issued by the agency, “the investigation was conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following money laundering investigations initiated on the basis of two criminal complaints filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against accused John Britto and others”.
It stated that “the complaints were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) and the Customs Act”.
The agency further noted that the syndicate was allegedly involved in the smuggling of large quantities of narcotic substances, including 99 kilograms of hashish valued at approximately Rs. 108 crore and more than 37 kilograms of methamphetamine, commonly known as ICE, estimated at Rs. 150 crore.
The drugs were allegedly being smuggled to Sri Lanka through sea routes.
The agency initiated the probe based on two prosecution complaints filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for offences under various sections of the NDPS Act, 1985.
The statement added that “in the first case, in a joint operation, officers of DRI Chennai Zone and Indian Coast Guard personnel intercepted a country boat in the Gulf of Mannar and seized 99kg hashish (having estimated market value of Rs. 108 crore) being smuggled to Sri Lanka in the wee hours of March 5, 2024. In the second case, DRI officers seized 37.645 kg of Methamphetamine (having estimated market value of Rs. 150 crore) from one Phillomen Prakash at Madurai Railway Station while he was transporting the narcotic drugs from Chennai to Madurai for further supplying it to his associates”.
Investigators stated that “during the probe, it emerged that one John Britto was the mastermind of the smuggling of narcotic substances in both instances. He was procuring the prohibited narcotic substances and was attempting to smuggle the same to Sri Lanka using sea routes with the help of a few fishermen and boats owned by Remistan, Ramish, Jansan and Pratap, who were supposed to receive commissions in lieu of transporting and supplying the said drugs on the instruction of John Britto. For his operations, John Britto was routing money through hawala channels to remunerate the carriers and his relatives and close associates. Through these activities, he and his associates generated proceeds of crime. It was also found during the investigation that John Britto is absconding and was operating his syndicate remotely from a foreign location”.
The agency further described John Britto as the alleged mastermind of the syndicate and a habitual offender with established contacts in Sri Lanka. According to investigators, Britto recruited fishermen and boat owners to transport narcotics through Indian waters and supply them to Sri Lankan contacts in the open sea, in a method designed to evade coastal surveillance.
The statement also noted that incriminating documents related to a wider network operating in the region had been seized. Investigators are also probing hawala routes through which money was allegedly paid to middlemen and traffickers.
