New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has arrested a Punjab-based "kingpin" of an international narcotics syndicate under the anti-money laundering law.

Akshay Chhabra was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on April 2 from Jalandhar, the federal probe agency said in a statement. He is currently in Enforcement Directorate's (ED) custody.

The agency had raided the premises of Chhabra in October last year.

As per the ED, Chhabra was the kingpin of an international drug syndicate being run from Ludhiana in Punjab.

"He managed to import drugs from Afghanistan in the name of shell/fake entities and supplied them further," the ED said in the statement.

"Huge proceeds of crime were generated out of this illegal drug trade, which were infused in immovable properties, liquor business, and transferred out of India through different hawala channels," the ED said.

The money laundering case against Chhabra and his associates stems from a complaint lodged by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) alleging that 20.32 kg of heroin was seized from his possession sometime back. Chhabra and his associates were "involved" in the manufacturing and sale of illicit drugs; they used to process smuggled morphine/raw heroin through two Afghanistan nationals and distributed the processed heroin to various drug dealers, the ED said in a statement last year. PTI NES ARI

Money laundering allegation: accused alleged to have used shell entities and hawala to launder narcotics proceeds abroad. Arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of a Punjab-based individual alleged to be the head of an international narcotics syndicate who imported drugs through international supply chains, used shell entities to launder receipts, reinvested proceeds in immovable property and a liquor business, and transferred funds overseas via hawala channels; the investigation stems from a narcotics predicate seizure and alleges processing and distribution of illicit drugs through foreign nationals.