The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Madurai Sub-Zonal Office, conducted searches on September 3 at six residential premises in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the illegal trafficking of psychotropic substances, including methamphetamine and ganja.
The searches resulted in the seizure of digital devices and incriminating documents relating to monetary transactions and investments in immovable properties, the agency said in a release dated September 4.
According to the ED, the probe was initiated based on a complaint filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Chennai Zonal Unit, before the Special Court for EC and NDPS Act cases concerning the illegal trafficking of methamphetamine and ganja.
The ED said the NCB had intercepted M Alex of Vilundamavadi, Nagapattinam district, on April 13, 2025, near Bharati Nagar on the Pudukottai-Madurai Road at Melavilakudi, while he was allegedly carrying methamphetamine hydrochloride.
The agency said Alex was a repeated offender and that he and his father, Mahalingam, had been accused in various other FIRs registered by Tamil Nadu Police during 2023 and 2024 in connection with the trafficking of methamphetamine and ganja.
The ED said its investigation found that Alex had allegedly earned substantial illegal income through drug trafficking and that the proceeds of crime were invested in numerous immovable properties, including shrimp farms in Nagapattinam, Velankanni and Thaliyamadi, as well as movable assets such as vehicles.
According to the agency, these assets were acquired in the names of Alex and his family members.
The investigation further revealed that the alleged proceeds of crime were layered through the bank accounts of family members and third parties, the ED said.
Loans were allegedly raised in the names of family members and other third-party associates and later repaid in cash using the proceeds of crime, which were subsequently routed through certain other entities.
