The seizure of Rs. 1 crore hawala money from Vadakara recently by the police is in an indication of the extent to which unaccounted money is flooding the interior areas of Kozhikode. The total amount seized in the last two years comes to around Rs. 3 crore.
The police are unable to find the recipients of the money as the carriers have no information about them. In Kozhikode district, Non- Resident Keralites are the ones frequently arrested in connection with the hawala money transfer.
A police official said the money was sent mainly from north Indian States and using residents of Maharashtra as carriers. In the recent seizure, the three carriers arrested were Maharashtra residents, who had no knowledge about the actual sender or receiver of the money, he said.
The police found several documents during the seizure.
“Finding incriminating documents is the biggest task in the investigation after the seizure of an amount. Otherwise, it is very easy for the carriers to get back the money,” an official said.
Though Koduvally was one of the previous hotspots of the hawala money transfers, operators in the area have changed their strategy and movement.
“Earlier two-wheelers and luxury vehicles had been used for carrying the money. Now, even ordinary buses are used to transport the money evading the eyes of the police and the enforcement department,” a police official said.
Currently, all the cases are under the consideration of the Enforcement Directorate who have been given evidence to prove that the money was brought to the district violating rules.
An inquiry is under way in many cases based on the telephone call details traced by the police from the accused persons.
