A walk-on role or more? DMK faces heat over a drug bust and a movie producer on the run

Last week, the NCB team went to the producer’s home in Chennai and pasted the summons outside. With no response from the producer and his home locked, officials of the central agency went to his home on Wednesday evening with a search warrant and went inside. He is accused of being involved in the smuggling ring that was moving pseudoephedrine to Australia and New Zealand disguised as health-mix powder and desiccated coconut. On Thursday, the NCB conducted searches at an office that reportedly has links to a leader of the DMK’s Chennai West unit. The cameraman of a Tamil news channel who came to the office on getting to know of the raids was attacked by a group of men.

However, Sadiq himself has links to the DMK, having been the Chennai West “deputy organiser” of the party’s NRI wing. His online accounts show photos with several top DMK leaders.

Hoping to contain the fallout of this arrest, the DMK expelled him on Sunday. A top DMK leader said Sadiq joined the party about two-and-a-half years ago on the recommendation of a senior leader from the Chennai West district unit. “Since it is for drug smuggling charges, we did not wait for action. Sadiq got a key responsibility in the party only last June. Reports say that he was allegedly doing illegal activities even before he joined the DMK. There was nothing more to do on our part now other than expelling him,” said the DMK functionary.

The Opposition has moved to corner the DMK over the issue, with AIADMK general secretary and former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami calling for a thorough investigation into the matter, highlighting the need for political accountability and transparency. He alleged that Tamil Nadu was becoming a “haven for drug smugglers” and that it was shameful for the DMK to have a “functionary involved in a drug racket”.

NCB Headquarters in a joint operation with the Special Cell of Delhi Police and Operations Branch, busted a drug trafficking network involved in precursor chemical trafficking and seized 50kg of Pseudoephedrine. Three persons were arrested in this connection. After sustained… pic.twitter.com/h9h1DTKVji

— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2024

State BJP president K Annamalai said the ruling party was mistaken if it thought that just dismissing Sadiq from the party would suffice. Annamalai demanded a detailed probe into “suspects in the DMK and the film industry”.

Not just the DMK, Sadiq’s associates in the film industry have also disassociated themselves from him. Ameer, who was directing a movie produced by Sadiq, issued a statement claiming ignorance about his alleged illegal activities.

Sources in the NCB said they were probing several investments made by Sadiq, including a restaurant business in which Ameer, who shot to fame in 2017 with his movie Paruthiveeran, is said to have links. Ameer, in his statement, said the shooting of his movie had stopped on February 22 for unknown reasons and that “if there is any truth in the allegations in the news, it should be condemned and punished”.