LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed interim bail petitions of two women accused of alleged money laundering through proceeds generated from drug trafficking.

The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) had registered a case against Maria Umar and Rimsha Asim accusing them of accumulating properties worth around Rs400 million in the Defence area between 2018 and 2025.

During the bail hearing, ANF officials and the accused women appeared before a two-member bench headed by Justice Farooq Haider.

A counsel for the ANF argued that the women had acquired properties using money earned through narcotics activities.

He submitted that bank transactions amounting to Rs750m had been traced in the accounts of the accused women during the relevant period.

He stated that during the inquiry, the accused were asked to provide evidence regarding the properties but they failed to furnish any supporting documents or explain the source of their income and banking transactions.

A counsel for the accused argued that the ANF had already taken possession of three properties without obtaining approval from any court.

He contended that the complainant of the case was himself the investigating officer as well. He pointed out that an officer below grade-18 could not investigate such a matter.

The defence counsel also maintained that the accused had never previously been questioned regarding allegations of accumulating properties through money laundering.

However, the ANF counsel said notices had been issued to the accused clearly mentioning all the properties under investigation. The prosecution alleged that Maria’s husband was also involved in narcotics activities in Karachi and had previously remained in jail.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the bench dismissed the interim bail petitions of both accused women.

Following the court order, the ANF arrested both suspects.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026