2 held, Rs 75 lakh hawala money seized

BENGALURU: Two suspected hawala operators were picked up from south Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon and later arrested. Police seized Rs 75.7 lakh, a sedan and two mobile phones from them.
Based on a tip-off, Central Crime Branch sleuths in plainclothes swooped down on Nissar Hassan Ahmed, 35, of Jhansi Nagar Colony, Toli Chowki, Hyderabad and N Nandeesh, of Kempston Club road, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, who were loitering outside a bank in VV Puram.
“We had credible inputs that the two men were carrying huge amounts of money, perhaps, hawala money,” police said. “Our men were deployed all over the area. The duo arrived in a white sedan (TN 43 H 9641). We detained them for questioning and later arrested them and seized the cash.” During investigation, the accused allegedly confessed to have collected the money from an Ooty businessman as part of a hawala transaction.
“Mujahid Alam Khan, a Hyderabad-based businessman, recently purchased a bungalow in Ooty for Rs 7.1 crore,” police said. “Nandeesh, a real estate agent by profession, facilitated the deal. According to Nandeesh, Khan told him he would hand over his commission of Rs 15 lakh in Bengaluru. Also, Khan directed Nandeesh to collect Rs 60 lakh towards the registration fee from a hawala agent, identified as Dinesh, in Bengaluru. Nissar had come all the way from Hyderabad to make arrangements on behalf of Khan,” police said. A hunt has been launched to nab Dinesh. tnn