In a significant crackdown on currency smuggling, the Pune customs authorities have intercepted over $400,000 (approximately ₹3.47 crore) that was being smuggled from India to Dubai. The cash was meticulously concealed between the pages of notebooks belonging to three young students, all in their early twenties, who were traveling to Dubai.The customs sleuths were investigating a suspected hawala racket after the arrest of a Pune-based travel agent, Khushboo Agarwal, who had booked a Dubai trip for the three students and a Mumbai-based forex trader.
Acting on specific intelligence, the Indian authorities alerted their counterparts in Dubai, who sent the three student passengers back to India upon their arrival. The three passengers were intercepted at the Pune Airport on February 17, and a thorough search by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers led to the recovery of $400,100 in $100 bills, hidden between the pages of multiple notebooks in the students’ bags.During questioning, the three female students, who were pursuing postgraduate studies, revealed that it was Agarwal, the Pune-based travel agent, who had given them the bags containing the cash.
The students were allegedly unaware of the nature of the content they were carrying.This incident has raised concerns about the potential use of unsuspecting students in currency smuggling operations, highlighting the need for heightened vigilance and stricter measures to curb such illicit activities. The Pune customs authorities are now further investigating the case, including the role of the travel agent and the Mumbai-based forex trader, to uncover the broader network involved in this suspected hawala racket.
The interception of such a large sum of undeclared foreign currency underscores the importance of intelligence-driven operations and the ongoing efforts by the Indian authorities to combat the menace of money laundering and cross-border financial crimes.
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