Punjab: Court convicts man for money laundering in drugs smuggling case

A special PMLA court in Punjab's Jalandhar has convicted a man on money laundering charges for smuggling narcotic drugs.

New Delhi: A special PMLA court in Punjab‘s Jalandhar has convicted a man on money laundering charges for smuggling narcotic drugs, the Enforcement Directorate said on Saturday.

Navdeep Singh has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 3.5 years along with a fine of Rs 50,000 after the court found him guilty under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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The sentencing was pronounced by the court on August 17 and it added that if the fine is not paid, the accused will have to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months, the central agency said in a statement.

The court also allowed the confiscation of assets worth Rs 9 lakh of the accused that was earlier seized by the ED.

The money laundering case stems from a 2017 Punjab Police FIR, filed under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, against the accused and others.

According to the police investigation, the ED said, Navdeep Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Pal Singh (now deceased) in connivance with Rupinder Singh alias Rob Sidhu, a Canadian citizen, used to “smuggle” heroin.