London: As the mystery behind the murder of Indian millionaire Amarjit Chohan and disappearance of his family members deepened, Scotland Yard believe they are linked to a booming global smuggling of "khat", a West African shrub, and trying to trace three gangsters including Ken Regan who had worked with the businessman as a haulage driver.

The body of 46-year-old Chohan was found in the sea close to Bournemouth pier last month, but his wife, Nancy, 25, his two sons and mother-in-law remain missing.

Detectives fear all have suffered the same fate and that Chohan was possibly involved in importing "khat" and smuggling it to America, a fast-growing trade worth more than 150 million Pounds a year.

Nancy's brother Onker Verma, who last spoke to his sister from his home in New Zealand on February 15, said that Nancy was very worried about her husband. She had been told he had gone to Holland on a business trip but was not seen at work since February 13.

Two days later the family vanished, along with mother-in -law Charanjit Kaur, 51.

"I feel that disappearance has something to do with my brother-in-law's business. Something went wrong in the business," Verma, who is now staying at the Chohans' bungalow in Hounslow in West London, said on May 10 night.

Detectives believe that before Chohan's body was dumped into the sea, it was buried on the land of PR executive Belinda Brewin.

According to a report in 'The Mail', Brewin had worked for Chohan and she knew Ken Regan, another of his employees and one of the prime suspects in the murder.

PTI