India, April 30 -- A special PMLA court has given the Enforcement Directorate (ED) the green signal to confiscate assets worth Rs.700 crore linked to deceased fugitive gangster and drug trafficker Iqbal Mirchi and his family, holding that there is a "strong reason to believe" the properties are proceeds of crime concealed through proxies and layered ownership structures.

The order, passed by Additional Sessions Judge R B Rote on Wednesday, comes after the ED moved the special court in March, seeking permission to confiscate 15 properties across Mumbai and Dubai, under the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act.

The prime Worli properties are Rabia Mansion, Marium Lodge and Sea View, while the Dubai properties include Hotel Midwest Apartm...