How Mumbai Police busted international e-hawala racket

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The Sahar police have nabbed three directors of entertainment and media companies for allegedly running an e-hawala racket. Sahar police managed to nab the three directors, identified as Sameer Pagare, 28, Rizwan Poonawala, 29, and Gopal Joijode, 41, from their residences in South Mumbai. All were produced before a court and remanded in police custody.

The fourth director is at large. The directors took over four companies a year ago, and since then ran the e-hawala racket. They sent people as carriers to other countries with each carrying approximately $10,000 and five forex cards, with around 1,80,000 dirhams. The carriers would travel to the guided country on the pretext of film production and hand the money and cards to a contact person.

The e-hawala racket operations began in January 2018. Sources added that during investigation they realised a batch of 24 carriers were sent in January 2018. Police suspect that this could be their first batch. The police have also seized the companies' bank accounts, that contain approximately R25 crore in around seven banks. Police suspect that more than Rs 50 crore were transacted through e-hawala by these racketeers, said the source.

Sources said that so far police has made 51 accused in the case, out of which 14 (including the three directors) have been arrested. They have issued look-out notices for the remaining accused. Sahar Police station's senior police inspector Lata Shirsat said that further investigation is on.

Since the look-out notice was issued, a woman was detained at the Jaipur airport. She had travelled to Dubai as a carrier on April 6. The woman, who stays in Mumbai, has been given a notice under CrPC 41 to appear before Sahar police and co-operate in the investigation. Police said the racketeers seem to be testing different airports for arrival. However, a carrier called Farzan Shaikh returning from Dubai on April 16 was arrested at Mumbai International Airport, based on the notice.

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