Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable assets valued at about ₹7.17 crore in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to narcotics trafficking under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The ED initiated proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a complaint registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Goa, in March 2021 against Ugochukwu Solomon Ubabuko, Infinity John alias David alias Valentine Ejezie, and Prasad Prakash Walke for offences under the NDPS Act.
According to the investigation, the NCB had seized commercial quantities of drugs including LSD, cocaine, charas and ganja from a premises in Assagao. Additional searches conducted at the residence of Prasad Walke also led to the recovery of LSD.
Officials stated that Walke had earlier been arrested by the NCB in 2018 and later by the Goa Police Anti-Narcotic Cell in 2023 in separate NDPS cases involving the seizure of MDMA, ecstasy powder and hydroponic cannabis. He is currently lodged in judicial custody.
The ED probe revealed that proceeds from alleged drug trafficking activities were routed into the formal financial system through significant cash deposits made in multiple bank accounts held in the names of Prasad Walke and his wife, Sheetal Walke.
The attached assets include three residential properties located in Assagao, Bardez — a three-storey house under Survey No. 155/10 and two double-storey houses under Survey Nos. 182/56 and 182/47. The properties are registered in the names of Prasad Walke and Sheetal Walke and have been attached on the grounds that they represent proceeds of crime generated from drug-related offences.
The Enforcement Directorate said the action forms part of its ongoing efforts to curb narcotics trafficking and associated money laundering by targeting financial assets derived from illegal activities. Authorities stated that investigations are continuing to identify other persons involved and to trace additional assets linked to the case.
