Hawala racket busted: Four held, Rs 66 lakh seized at Nampally railway station

HYDERABAD: A suspected hawala racket was busted and four persons from Bihar were nabbed at Nampally railway station on Wednesday night. The railway police recovered two parcels packed with Rs 66.5 lakh cash, which was concealed between footwear and LED lamps by the accused.


The accused identified as — Sathyender Bhagat, 42, Dinesh Thakur, 38, Mukhesh Kumar, 24, and Dinesh, 26 — have been working at Andhra Parcel Service in Osmangunj for the last couple of years. The quartet confessed that they collected cash from various persons in the city and packed it neatly in two parcels as per the ‘instructions’ given by parcel manager Lalji. “Lalji is absconding and we have launched a manhunt to nab him. We will get to know more about the illegal money transfer once he is arrested,” the SP said. The parcels were supposed to be received in Mumbai by one Raju.

Acting on a specific information, Government Raiway Police (GRP) along with sleuths of Railway Protection Force (RPF) conducted a surprise check of parcels being loaded onto the Hyderabad-Mumbai Express (17032) at platform No 6 at Nampally station. “It was in two such parcels, we found Rs 66.5 lakh cash concealed between footwear and LED lamps,” SP, GRP,

Secunderabad

, G Ashok Kumar said. “We informed income tax, Enforcement Directorate and commercial tax authorities on the seizure,” Ashok Kumar said. The accused along with the seized cash will be produced in court on Friday.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword.