The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 7.90 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in two drug cases lodged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) in Punjab. These cases are related to Ludhiana-based former sarpanch Gurdeep Singh Rano of Rano village and others, and Faridkot-based medical shop owner Rajesh Kumar and others. The assets included 16 immoveable properties consisting of land and building in Punjab belonging to Gurdeep Singh Rano and his family members and 11 immoveable properties consisting of land in Punjab belonging to Rajesh Kumar and his family members. The ED also attached bank accounts, and seized cash and gold ornaments. The ED had first filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) following an FIR registered by Special Task Force (STF) of Punjab Police against the main accused and others. In Gurdip Singh’s case, the other accused are Akashdeep Singh, Ramneek Singh, Ravez Singh, Babaljit Singh, and Iqbal – all from Khanna – NRIs Tanvir Bedi living in Australia and Italy-based Simran Sidhu. The STF had shared all the details with the ED. The STF headed by ADGP Harpreet Singh Sidhu in its probe had found the links of Rano with several police officials and politicians. The ED found that the accused used to smuggle heroin and other narcotics from across the border through shipping containers and then they used to stock them in different regions of the country to supply them further.
