ED arrests Punjab-based drug syndicate kingpin under money laundering charges

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has arrested Akshay Chhabra, alleged kingpin of an international drug syndicate based in Punjab, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Chhabra was detained from Jalandhar on April 2 and is currently in ED custody. The federal agency had earlier raided his residence in October last year.

According to the ED, Chhabra operated the drug syndicate from Ludhiana and was involved in importing narcotics from Afghanistan using shell companies. “He managed to import drugs in the name of shell entities and further supplied them,” the agency said in a statement.

The ED said Chhabra amassed significant proceeds from the illegal drug trade, which were later invested in real estate, liquor businesses, and transferred abroad through hawala networks.

The money laundering case is based on a complaint filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which had earlier seized 20.32 kg of heroin from Chhabra.

He and his associates were allegedly involved in manufacturing and distributing illegal drugs. The ED said the group used morphine and raw heroin smuggled in by two Afghan nationals, which they processed and supplied to various drug dealers.