The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended a resident of Nagpur in connection with a money laundering investigation related to smuggling foreign betel nuts through the India-Myanmar border. The arrest took place on June 22 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The ED’s probe is focused on an ongoing case involving the evasion of customs duty through the use of shell entities based in the Northeast.
The ED initiated the investigation following an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Nagpur. It was discovered during preliminary investigations that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had conducted a separate probe into several traders in Nagpur who were procuring foreign-origin betel nuts.
During the course of the investigation, the ED conducted searches at various locations, resulting in the seizure of incriminating documents and electronic devices. It was revealed that substantial sums of money were transferred to certain parties in Assam, which were then withdrawn in cash, suspected to be used for the purchase of smuggled foreign-origin betel nuts.
Officials from the ED stated that the smuggling operation involved the fabrication of domestic invoices and transportation bills in transporting the betel nuts to Nagpur. Wasim Bawla, the arrested individual, was found to be actively engaged in the smuggling activity through his close association with Assam traders, transporters, warehouse owners, and shell entities that provided fake invoices to facilitate the sale and purchase of betel nuts in the Nagpur region.
Despite being in Nagpur, the arrested suspect had made significant attempts to evade the ED investigation by frequently changing phones, ignoring summons, and refusing to participate in search proceedings. Wasim Bawla has been remanded in ED custody for eight days until June 30, following his production before the Special PMLA Court in Mumbai.