Telangana alerts central agencies on hawala trail fuelling drug cartels
Hyderabad: Stepping up its war on narco-financing, the Telangana Anti Narcotics Bureau (TGANB) has written to multiple central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, seeking action against a Goa-based hawala operator accused of channelling drug money to Nigeria.
According to officials, the hawala operator, Uttam Singh, played a key role in laundering proceeds of the drug trade, allegedly charging a 2% commission for each transaction. "In just two days, he reportedly collected ₹50 lakh from various drug peddlers in Goa. Imagine the volume of money laundered over a year," a TGANB official told TOI.
Singh would hand over cash to his associates only after a unique form of verification — the recipient had to show a specific half-torn currency note on WhatsApp as authentication.
The Nigerians operating the peddling network from Goa were receiving up to 20% commission from handlers abroad. In one case, officials found that arrested suspect Emmanuel Bediako Maxwell made 150 bank transfers totalling ₹55 lakh to relatives—all proceeds from drug deals.
In a related operation, four more Nigerians were arrested from a house built on an acre of land. The property owner, unaware of their background, rented a room for ₹20,000 but later resisted police entry and even threatened to contact senior officials in Goa when the raid began.
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Drugs were seized during the search.
"Breaking these hawala channels is key to disrupting the international drug pipeline," officials said. "Drugs produced in Latin America are reaching Europe and then coastal Indian cities like Mumbai. But the money moves in reverse — from Mumbai to Nigeria, and onward to global suppliers," TGANB officials said.
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