The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday took underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Kaskar into custody from Thane jail in connection with the money laundering case registered against Dawood and his aides.
He will be produced before a special court later in the day.
Earlier this week, a court had issued a production warrant against Kaskar following an application from the ED seeking permission to question him.
Kaskar has been in jail after being charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), following three cases of extortion registered against him by the Thane police in 2017.
The ED is probing a money laundering case against Ibrahim, Iqbal Mirchi, Chhota Shakeel, Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar and Javed Chikna after it found several hawala transactions linked to money illegally obtained through extortion, drug trafficking, sale of real estate in Nagpada and Bhendi Bazaar area of Mumbai, and other unlawful activities.
The agency has already searched 10 premises in Mumbai, including the residences of Kaskar, Chhota Shakeel’s brother-in-law Salim Fruit and Parkar’s son among others, in connection with its probe. It has also questioned Salim Fruit.
The ED’s money laundering case against Ibrahim and his aides is based on a fresh case filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) earlier this month against D-Company under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Ibrahim and several of his associates have been named by the NIA along with their roles in terror activities, including hawala transactions, against India.