Itanagar, Jul 29: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office, has filed a Prosecution Complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against 19 accused persons, including five individuals and 14 bonded warehouse entities, for their alleged involvement in a large-scale liquor smuggling and money laundering racket operating between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
The complaint names Sanjay Dewan, Niraj Sharma, Rajan Lohia, Shankar Deb and Sameer Mehta among the accused. The ED said its investigation was initiated on the basis of 173 FIRs registered by the Assam Police in districts along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
According to the agency, the investigation uncovered an organised network engaged in the manufacture and illegal transportation of liquor labelled "For Sale in Arunachal Pradesh" into Assam without valid transit permits or Excise Verification Certificates, allegedly to evade higher excise duty and Value Added Tax (VAT).
The ED said Assam Excise authorities had seized over 2.63 lakh bulk litres of such liquor, valued at around Rs 52.77 crore, in 739 cases between January 2023 and April 2026, adding that these seizures represented only a fraction of the alleged smuggling.
The agency alleged that the three principal accused controlled a network of manufacturing units, bonded warehouses and wholesale businesses in Arunachal Pradesh by using local licence holders as proxy operators. It further claimed that dummy directors were appointed in several entities, while actual financial and managerial control remained with the accused.
The ED also alleged that the syndicate expanded liquor production beyond authorised capacities and laundered the proceeds through a structured financial network involving wholesale firms, bonded warehouses and manufacturing units before routing the money into personal and business assets.
According to the investigation, around Rs 1,047.93 crore in cash deposits was identified in the accounts of nine wholesale entities. The agency alleged that hawala channels were used to move illicit cash into Arunachal Pradesh and that transactions were deliberately structured below statutory reporting limits to avoid scrutiny.
During searches conducted in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the ED seized Rs 52.10 lakh in cash and froze bank balances and fixed deposits worth Rs 26.59 crore under the PMLA. It said the Adjudicating Authority under the Act has confirmed the retention of the frozen assets.
The agency further stated that forensic examination of seized mobile phones revealed the use of coded terms such as "Books", "Box", "KG" and "Bag" to denote cash transactions and indicated the existence of an inter-state hawala network spanning Guwahati, Delhi, Ranchi and Hyderabad.
The ED added that findings from the investigation were corroborated by previous Income Tax Department proceedings in which the principal accused had reportedly disclosed substantial undisclosed income and tax evasion.
Further investigation is in progress, the agency said.