New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, has filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against seven accused persons — including Tanzanian national Vedasto Audax, Zimbabwean national Tariro Brightmore Mangwana, and Indian nationals Masoom Uikey, Chirag Dudhat, Reshma Wadekar, Mangesh Wadekar, and Nibu Vincent — under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the agency said on Saturday.  

The complaint, filed on October 18, 2025, marks a major step in the ED’s probe into an international drug trafficking and money laundering network linked to the smuggling of 4.325 kilograms of cocaine into India from Laos.

The case originated from an FIR registered by the Crime Branch of the Goa Police.

Earlier, on August 19, 2025, the ED had carried out extensive search operations across Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

‘These operations resulted in the seizure of significant digital evidence, incriminating documents, and the freezing of several bank accounts suspected to be linked to the laundering of Proceeds of Crime (POC),” the ED said in its press note.

During the probe, Tariro Brightmore Mangwana was arrested on August 22 under Section 19 of the PMLA for his key role in facilitating international narcotics trafficking and laundering illicit funds.

He was found to have arranged travel and financed Indian drug couriers, receiving commissions from the prime accused, Vedasto Audax.

In a parallel action, the ED also issued a Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) on October 18, attaching assets worth Rs 45.15 lakh, including a house in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, belonging to the accused Reshma Wadekar.

“Reshma Wadekar had carried 4.3 Kgs of Cocaine to India from Vientiane in March 2025 in one of her drug trafficking instances. The financial investigation done so far by ED has revealed generation of POC to the tune of Rs. 88.14 Lakh associated with the drug trafficking,” it said.

The ED’s probe has exposed connections between the accused and global drug trafficking syndicates operating from the Golden Triangle, the Middle East, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

The ED further noted that “Further investigation is ongoing to identify additional beneficiaries, facilitators, and assets derived from the POC. ED investigation has also revealed the use of shell entities and benami accounts for routing funds, thereby disguising the origin of the money earned through drug trafficking.”

Reaffirming its commitment under the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’, the ED said it remains determined to dismantle such networks by targeting their financial infrastructure and seizing assets derived from drug trafficking.

–IANS

sas/dan