NCB freezes Rs 25.5 cr assets bought with illicit drug money

In a major step towards dismantling the financial networks sustaining the drug trade, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has confirmed the freezing of assets worth over Rs 25.5 crore under Section 68F(2) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The confirmation order, issued earlier, followed a detailed financial probe by the NCB’s Amritsar Zonal Unit into a case arising from the seizure of 34,372 tramadol tablets from a local pharmaceutical network earlier this year.

The frozen assets include two immovable properties — one worth Rs 10.5 crore in Amritsar and another valued at Rs 15 crore in Tarn Taran — allegedly owned by Dr Jatinder Malhotra and Dr Arti Malhotra. The two are accused of acquiring the assets using proceeds from the illegal trade in psychotropic substances.

According to the NCB, profits from drug trafficking were channelled into real estate and other ventures to disguise their illicit origins. After reviewing financial records and hearing the parties concerned, the Competent Authority determined that the assets were liable for freezing.

An NCB spokesperson said the move reflected the agency’s renewed focus on financial investigations as a core part of its enforcement strategy. “While earlier operations primarily targeted drug seizures and arrests, the Bureau is now equally focused on tracing, freezing and forfeiting drug money to cripple the economic base of narcotics traffickers,” he said.

The Narcotics Control Bureau headquarters has directed all zonal units to launch parallel financial probes in major Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances cases, identify ‘benami’ properties and holdings in the names of associates or relatives and submit proposals for freezing. Officials added that properties acquired through drug money can be frozen even during investigation, pending adjudication and later forfeited to the Central Government.