Customs officials at Pune Airport seized $400,100 (Rs 3.47 crore) in US currency from three students returning from Dubai on February 17. The students were allegedly being used as carriers in a suspected hawala operation, officials said.
According to the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), the students had flown to Dubai on February 16 via IndiGo, on a week-long trip sponsored by Pune-based travel agent Khushboo Agarwal. Just before departure, Agarwal allegedly handed them two suitcases, asking them to deliver them to someone at the airport in Dubai, claiming they contained “important documents.”
Acting on a tip-off, Indian authorities alerted their Dubai counterparts, who intercepted the students upon arrival and barred them from leaving the airport. The next day, they were sent back to Pune via a SpiceJet flight.
When customs opened the suitcases, they discovered books and notebooks—and $400,100 in $100 bills hidden between the pages. During questioning, the students revealed the role of Khushboo Agarwal.
Agarwal was arrested and admitted ownership of the money under the Customs Act. Her confession led officials to a forex firm in Mumbai, where they arrested Mohammed Aamir, the alleged supplier of the foreign currency.
A raid on the firm uncovered foreign currency worth approximately Rs 45 lakh. Searches were conducted across 10 locations in Pune, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. Agarwal and Aamir were produced in court and initially remanded to six days in customs custody. On February 24, they were sent to 14 days’ judicial custody and are now lodged in Yerwada Central Jail.
Investigations are ongoing into the broader network possibly involved in this cross-border hawala operation.
