3 days ago
Courier caught at Varanasi Jn with Rs35 lakh hawala money
Varanasi: Govt railway police at Varanasi Junction (Cantt railway station) caught a courier with Rs 35 lakh hawala money. Deputy SP GRP Varanasi, Kunwar Pratap Singh, said during security check at the platforms, launched as part of preparations for Shravan month, GRP team apprehended a suspicious looking man.
When his bag was checked, Rs 35 lakh was found in it.
GRP personnel took him to their office, where income tax officials were called and the courier was handed over to them with the cash. During initial investigation by GRP, it came to light that the courier hailed from Bikaner, Rajasthan and worked as a spice supplier in Varanasi. He came in contact with a gang involved in transferring hawala money.
On receiving a lucrative offer, he initially transported Rs 20 lakh and was now carrying Rs 35 lakh to deliver to a person at Sasaram in Bihar. He identified Pankaj from Kolkata as the man operating of the hawala racket. Pankaj used to instruct all his agents via WhatsApp on where to collect and deliver the money. Pankaj would also provide funds for train reservations for agents and once money was delivered to the specific person, the agents would receive their fee.
The officer mentioned that the man apprehended provided crucial information about several gangs and efforts were underway to locate them.
