The Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB), with support from Goa Police, has busted a major inter-state hawala racket connected to drug cartels, seizing Rs 50 lakh hidden inside a washing machine at a Goa apartment. After a month-long surveillance operation, officials arrested Uttam Singh, who runs a mobile shop in Mapusa, Goa, and is suspected of laundering Rs 2.10 crore in drug proceeds within one week.
TGANB Director Sandeep Shandilya stated, “Hard cash from drug sales was handed over to Singh, who then routed the money from Goa to Mumbai and subsequently transferred it to Nigeria.” The recovered Rs 50 lakh was a two-day collection that was about to be sent abroad when intercepted.
Between May 26 and June 1, authorities tracked 58 hawala transactions linked to Singh. The investigation was initiated after the arrest of Emmanuel Bediako, aka Maxwell, a Nigerian national. Singh is believed to be part of a larger hawala network aiding drug syndicates in transferring funds internationally.
In a related crackdown, four Nigerian nationals were arrested in Goa recently, with drugs worth Rs 1.64 crore, including ecstasy and cocaine, also seized.
