New Delhi. DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s troubles seem to be increasing as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has entered into the fray in the over Rs 2,000 crore drug syndicate case. Based on the FIR lodged by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the ED has now registered a case of money laundering. This development may make matters more complicated for Udhayanidhi Stalin, as the ED may soon interrogate him apart from the already arrested Tamil filmmaker Zafar Sadiq. The ED investigation is aimed at uncovering the financial nexus of drug syndicates operating in Bollywood and Tollywood, potentially leading to unearthing of illicit earnings worth crores of rupees extending to foreign shores.
Zafar Sadiq, who was earlier arrested by the NCB in an international drug trafficking case, had allegedly provided funds to Udhayanidhi Stalin. According to his statement during NCB interrogation, on the pretext of relief and party funds, Sadiq allegedly transferred ₹7 lakh to Stalin. So far NCB has arrested four people in the drug syndicate case.
The drug syndicate under investigation involves transactions of over ₹2,000 crore, with the NCB recently revealing its crackdown on an international group involved in smuggling of 3,500 kg of a drug named ‘Pseudoephedrine’ which was exported to the global market. The price is more than ₹2,000 crore. Furthermore, the investigation has highlighted the involvement of aspects of casting couch within the film industry. Some financiers of Bollywood may also have to face NCB investigation soon. Udhayanidhi herself may call Stalin for NCB questioning. During the NCB investigation, it has emerged that the Tamil film titled ‘Mangai’ starring Zafar Sadiq was allegedly funded through the income derived from drug activities.