The very first PLMA case booked by the ED was in Chennai earlier this month against one Rafeeq Mohammed for an alleged consignment of Fake Indian National Currency (FICN) valued at Rs 29.5 lakh. With this case, the nexus of counterfeit currency smugglers who operated between Sri Lanka and South India was smashed. Yet another early PMLA case registered in Chennai was against an operative who had smuggled drugs to Pondicherry.

ED officials say that a series of other arrests and action under provisions of PMLA are in the offing, against offenders in states like Tamil Nadu and Punjab. Evidently, any money laundering trail revealed to agencies like the Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Central Bureau of Investigation and so on, is now being reported to the ED for PMLA cases being booked.