The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued alerts at all airports against an Indian and a Sri Lankan national whom it suspects to have been allegedly running a multi-crore Hawala racket in the southern part of the country.
The agency got on the trail of the duo after receiving inputs about some suspicious funds being routed illegally to Sri Lanka from Chennai.
The agency, a few days back, searched the premises of the Indian identified as Ali in Chennai and recovered Rs 1.3 crore in cash which is suspected to be Hawala stash.
"Both the suspects are absconding and the agency has issued a lookout notice against them. Their passports, however have been seized after the searches," official sources said.
The agency, which is probing the case after it registered an enquiry under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), is suspecting that the funds were being channelled by the duo for conducting some illegal activities.
The agency has already written to some banks with regard to these Hawala transactions even as it is on search to nab the duo.
Hawala denotes to illegal transactions and funds movement which is conducted clandestinely and by skirting the legal banking routes.
Sources said the Sri Lankan national is a regular visitor to India.
