Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate in Chennai has seized the helicopter of a Bangkok-based firm under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the request of US authorities.
The Bell 214 helicopter belongs to Hameed Ibrahim and Abdulla of the Bangkok-registered Marilog Avion Services Co Ltd. The helicopter was found by the ED on the premises of J Matadee Free Trade Warehouse Zone in Chennai.
The Enforcement Directorate said the helicopter was imported by Hameed Ibrahim and Abdulla of Marilog Avion Services Co. Ltd., Bangkok from AAR Corporation, United States and shipped to India through Thailand in 2019. It was dismantled and stored on the premises of J Matadee Free Trade Warehouse Zone in Chennai. The helicopter was frozen under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the agency said in a statement.
The agency said that the subject Bell 214 Helicopter has been under investigation owing to a case registered by the US Department of Homeland Security over its alleged end use in a prohibited country.
It added that the US Department of Justice has made a request for assistance in executing the Warrant for Arrest in Rem on the said Helicopter located in Chennai issued by the United States District Court, Columbia.