In a major action, the team of Panaji Zonal Office ED of Goa filed a charge sheet on 18 October 2025 against seven accused in the international drug smuggling and money laundering case. The names of the people against whom ED has filed the charge sheet are Vedasto Audax (Tanzanian citizen), Masum Uike, Chirag Dudhat, Tariro Brightmore Mangwana (Zimbabwe citizen), Reshma Wadekar, Mangesh Wadekar and Nibu Vincent.
This case is based on the FIR lodged by the Crime Branch of Goa Police, in which there is an allegation of smuggling 4.325 kg of cocaine from Laos to India. On August 19, 2025, ED had conducted simultaneous raids in this case across the country in Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
ED found digital evidence during investigation
In these raids, ED found many digital evidence, important documents and suspicious bank accounts, in which money related to money laundering was kept. ED investigation revealed that getting Zimbabwean citizen Tariro Brightmore was an important part of this entire network. He was arrested under PMLA on 22 August 2025.
ED says that Mangwana not only made travel arrangements and financing of Indian citizens involved in drug smuggling, but also took commission from Vedasto Audax of Tanzania for this work.
Gang active till Nepal and Bangladesh
During the investigation, on October 18, 2025, ED attached the property worth Rs 45.15 lakh of the accused named Reshma Wadekar located in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. ED says that Reshma had worked to bring 4.3 kg of cocaine to India from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, in March 2025.
The investigation so far has revealed illegal earnings of about Rs 88 lakh which are linked to this drug network. ED investigation has revealed that this gang is not only connected to India but also to areas like Golden Triangle, Middle East, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Used to embezzle money from benami accounts
This network used fake companies and anonymous accounts for buying and selling drugs and embezzling money, so that the real source of money could be hidden. ED has said that the investigation is still going on and there may be more revelations in this case in the coming days.
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