Telangana's anti-narcotics wing cracks on hawala racket; 20 held

Hyderabad, Sep 9 (PTI) Telangana anti-narcotics wing—EAGLE on Tuesday said it has busted a major hawala racket linked to drugs and arrested 20 people from different parts of the country.

During an investigation of a Nigerian national, who was caught while attempting to sell cocaine and ecstasy pills to his Hyderabad-based consumers in June, the well-organised hawala network was unearthed, the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) said in a release.

A total of 24 special EAGLE teams carried out raids and arrested 20 drug money launderers and accomplices across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, and Delhi, it said, and added that Rs 3 crore was seized during these raids.

EAGLE said during investigations it was found that the foreign cartels to sustain their operations in India, use multiple passports, fake identities, and fraudulent visas to re-enter India.

It was further found that the Nigerian peddlers were supplying drugs to Hyderabad and Goa. The drug profits were repatriated through hawala channels. This money is used to buy merchandise, which is finally shipped to Lagos, the release said.

Merely arresting or deporting foreign peddlers is not sufficient – breaking hawala channels, tightening visa/passport checks, and ensuring inter-state coordination are critical to curb this menace, the release added. PTI VVK VVK KH