The Enforcement Directorate has launched a major money laundering probe into an alleged international narcotics trafficking network operating from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai with links to Gujarat. On 28 October 2026, the agency’s Mumbai Zonal Office-I conducted searches at 11 premises across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Surat and Bhavnagar under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The official press release detailing the operation was issued on 30 October 2026.
The investigation stems from a complaint filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau Mumbai under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The ED is examining how money generated from the alleged sale of cocaine, high-grade hydroponic cannabis, LSD and cannabis edibles was converted into foreign currency, invested in businesses and moved through cryptocurrency accounts and wallets. The two individuals named by the Enforcement Directorate as heading the alleged syndicate are Navin Chichkar and Dhiraj Chichkar, along with their associates.
This is not a case limited to the recovery of drugs. The agency is focusing on the financial side of the operation. According to the Enforcement Directorate, drug sale proceeds were received mainly in cash. These funds were then converted into foreign currencies including US dollars and Thai Baht. The money was also invested in legitimate businesses so that it could appear as clean money.
Searches at premises linked to certain crypto traders further revealed details of cryptocurrency wallets and assets that the agency says are prima facie linked to proceeds of crime. Some suspected individuals were found to be operating multiple cryptocurrency trading accounts from outside India. The Enforcement Directorate is examining these details to trace linked accounts, transaction histories and secure the suspected proceeds.
The original Narcotics Control Bureau investigation began in January 2025 with the interception of an unclaimed parcel at an international courier agency in Mumbai. The parcel was bound for Australia. Inside a projector, officers found approximately 200 grams of cocaine. This led investigators to a larger recovery from a flat in Navi Mumbai. The Narcotics Control Bureau recovered 11.540 kilograms of high-grade cocaine, 4.9 kilograms of hybrid-strain hydroponic cannabis, 5.5 kilograms of cannabis gummies, 200 packets of cannabis gummy products and Rs 1.60 lakh in cash.
These figures come from the bureau’s press release of 5 March 2025. Later media reports put the estimated value of the seized narcotics at around Rs 200 crore. That figure relates to the street value of the drugs and is separate from any amount later identified in the money laundering probe.
The Narcotics Control Bureau described an international network. Drugs were allegedly procured from overseas sources, moved through international cargo and courier channels, received and distributed in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, and in some cases sent onwards to markets such as Australia.
Proceeds from sales were collected and moved. Three persons were arrested in the initial phase, followed by three others who were allegedly involved in managing finances through hawala arrangements, transshipment, procurement and further distribution.
Navin Gurunath Chichkar was identified by the Narcotics Control Bureau as the principal operator of the network. He was traced to Malaysia and deported to India in May 2025. Media reports stated that he had studied film and television and held a postgraduate qualification in psychology from a UK institution. Investigators believed he ran the operation while living outside India, including periods in Thailand and Malaysia. According to the sequence reported in June 2026, he left India in 2021, began building connections for hydroponic cannabis in 2022, established links with overseas cocaine suppliers in 2023, and expanded cargo operations in 2024.
The January 2025 interception of the Australia-bound parcel brought the network under full investigation. He was deported on 28 May 2025. In 2026 the Enforcement Directorate expanded the probe into the financial side of the alleged network. Media reports also mentioned alleged overseas intermediaries referred to as Kasim Hussein, Mohammed Ali and a person known as Mr Wyatt. These names appear in reporting as investigative leads and have not been established as findings of guilt by any court.
Dhiraj Chichkar has been identified by the Enforcement Directorate as a co-head of the alleged network. Media reports stated that he supervised distribution among key operatives and helped collect and transfer drug sale proceeds. He was arrested at Mumbai airport in August 2025 after returning from Malaysia. His alleged role in handling money makes him central to the money laundering investigation.
The searches on 28 October 2026 covered premises in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Surat and Bhavnagar. The Enforcement Directorate has not released a full list of addresses or the identities of every occupant. What was seized includes high-end smartphones, laptops, internal storage media, commercial books of accounts, financial ledgers, investment records and other incriminating material.
These items are expected to help reconstruct transactions and links between individuals, businesses and financial intermediaries. The agency has not disclosed the complete inventory or any monetary value of assets identified during the searches. No provisional attachment of property was announced in the 30 October press release.
The financial mechanism described by the Enforcement Directorate has several stages. Cash from drug sales was collected. According to additional reporting, this cash was handed to hawala operators who arranged for equivalent payments abroad in USDT or Thai Baht to Navin Chichkar while he was outside India. The Enforcement Directorate specifically named US dollars and Thai Baht as the foreign currencies involved. Cash proceeds were also invested in legitimate businesses so that they could be shown as untainted money. The agency has not named any of the businesses, their directors, shareholders, incorporation details, turnover or the amounts allegedly invested.
Cryptocurrency forms a significant new part of the case. Searches at premises linked to crypto traders produced details of wallets and assets that the Enforcement Directorate describes as prima facie linked to proceeds of crime. Suspected persons were operating trading accounts from outside India. Hindustan Times reporting specifically mentioned payments in USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Blockchain records can show transaction histories and links between wallets, but the identity of the person controlling a wallet is not automatically clear from the address alone.
The agency is examining the information to trace further accounts and secure assets. It has not disclosed wallet addresses, the types of cryptocurrency involved, the exchanges used, balances, transaction volumes or the countries where the accounts were maintained. No freezing or attachment of crypto assets was announced in the press release.
The Enforcement Directorate has not explained why premises in Surat and Bhavnagar were selected. The searches indicate that the investigation has moved beyond the original Mumbai and Navi Mumbai locations. Possible areas under examination include financial intermediaries, businesses that may have received funds, crypto trading operations or associates holding assets on behalf of the principal operators. These remain investigative possibilities rather than established findings about any specific person or firm in Gujarat.
The legal basis for the Enforcement Directorate’s action is the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Narcotics Control Bureau continues to handle the underlying narcotics offences under the NDPS Act. Under the money laundering law, proceeds of crime are defined as property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence.
The offence of money laundering covers attempts to indulge in, knowingly assist or become involved in processes connected with such proceeds, including concealment, possession, acquisition, use and projecting them as untainted property. Searches were conducted under the relevant provisions of the Act. The press release does not announce any provisional attachment of property or the filing of a prosecution complaint.
The original Narcotics Control Bureau investigation also noted the use of encrypted messaging applications including Telegram, WhatsApp and Snapchat, along with virtual telephone numbers. The network was described as operating on a need-to-know basis with code words. Digital devices seized in the October 2026 searches may contain communications, wallet details and records of financial arrangements. The Enforcement Directorate has not disclosed the contents of any recovered messages or established that any particular application was used to carry out money laundering transactions.
A clear timeline emerges from the official statements and subsequent reporting. In May 2024 the Narcotics Control Bureau reportedly identified an earlier instance of the same trafficking method. In January 2025 the Australia-bound parcel containing about 200 grams of cocaine was intercepted. On 31 January 2025 larger quantities of cocaine, hydroponic cannabis, cannabis gummies and cash were recovered from Navi Mumbai. On 5 March 2025 the Narcotics Control Bureau issued its press release describing the alleged international cartel. On 28 May 2025 Navin Chichkar was deported from Malaysia.
In August 2025 Dhiraj Chichkar was arrested after arriving from Malaysia. On 2 June 2026 Hindustan Times published a detailed account of the alleged network. Later that month the same newspaper reported the preventive detention of Navin Chichkar in a Chennai prison. On 28 October 2026 the Enforcement Directorate conducted the 11 searches. On 29 October 2026 Hindustan Times reported additional details on hawala transfers and cryptocurrency. On 30 October 2026 the Enforcement Directorate issued its official press release.
The investigation continues.
