The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) detained five people from the State under the provisions of the COFEPOSA Act 1974 on Sunday, an official statement issued by the agency said here on Monday.
Those detained have been identified as V.S. Suresh Babu of Kottayam; A.K. Shaji alias Payasam Shaji, Mohammed Shibu and Mohammed Shiju from Ettumanoor, and Siraj V. Essakhan, Ernakulam.
They have been detained after investigations established that they were involved in high volume international hawala operations in contravention of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, running into more than ₹300 crores over the past several years, the statement said.
The accused were sent to Central Prison and Correctional Home here.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had conducted searches at 14 locations in the State on June 19 as a part of an investigation into the hawala network operators.
The raids were launched against suspects who were allegedly undertaking hawala transactions in the guise of Forex Money Exchange, gift shops, textile, jewellery shops and readymade garment shops. The searches were conducted under the provisions of FEMA.
Assorted foreign currencies of huge value from more than 15 countries and Indian currency worth ₹4 crore were seized. On the basis of the material seized, including the digital records, it was established that the suspects were indulging in illegal forex dealings without taking KYC or issuing bills, the statement said. Further investigation is on.
