The Air Intelligence Unit of the Pune Customs Department found $400,100 (Rs 3.5 crores) hidden between the pages of the books of three students travelling from Dubai to Pune.
In their interrogation, it came to light that the trolley bags carried by the three students belonged to one Khusbu Agarwal, a Pune-based travel agent who told the students her bags contained important office documents. The students had booked their Dubai travel package through Ms Agarwal. The students insisted that they didn’t know anything about the foreign currency concealed in their bags and simply did what was asked of them by Ms Agarwal.
“Just before they departed from Pune, she handed them two bags, claiming they contained urgent documents for her Dubai office. The students, unaware of the actual contents, agreed to carry them,” AIU sources stated.
Authorities uncovered the Hawala operation after receiving intelligence about large sums of US currency being smuggled out of India using unsuspecting passengers. The Customs Department alerted their Dubai counterparts and monitored the students.
When the students returned to Pune on a SpiceJet flight on February 17, AIU officers searched their luggage and recovered the hidden cash.
Ms Agarwal was detained, and her statement was recorded under the Customs Act.
Further investigation led officials to a forex firm in Mumbai’s Fort area, where foreign currency worth Rs 45 lakh was seized. Mohammed Aamir, who had supplied the US dollars, was also arrested.
Simultaneously, AIU and Customs officers conducted raids at 10 locations across Pune, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai as part of the ongoing investigation.
