Hawala racket busted, 70 lakh seized

Hyderabad: The Special Operation Team (SOT) of LB Nagar zone on Saturday busted an alleged Hawala money transfer racket being operated from Raipur in Chhattisgarh and arrested one person, named Chandrakanth Varma (33). The police claimed to have seized Rs 70 lakh and two mobile phones from the arrested person.

According to the police, Varma hailed from Maharashtra and migrated to Hyderabad in search of livelihood. He used to work in a Jewellery shop, owned by K Chandraprakash, as marketing agent. On the instruction of the Jewellery shop owner, on March 7, Varma went to Raipur and brought an amount of Rs 33 lakh from Sunil Soni and handed over to Chandraprakash.

In the same way on Thursday as per the instructions of the Chandraprakash, Varma went to Raipur where Sunil Soni handed over an amount of Rs 70 lakh. He hid the money in the specially crafted jacket he was wearing and returned to Hyderabad on Saturday. The SOT team intercepted him during the vehicle checking at R K Puram crossroads and found the money hidden in the jacket, the police said.

On inquiry, Varma confessed that he had been sent to Raipur to collect the money and bring it Hyderabad on behalf of Chandraprakash. The arrested person was handed over to Neremet police station for further action. Manhunt has been launched to nab Chandraprakash and Sunil Soni.