The Jet Airways air hostess, who was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Sunday night, for allegedly trying to fly with a huge amount of foreign currency, is suspected to be part of a global hawala syndicate.
The woman, who was intercepted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), was carrying forex worth over Rs 3 crore and was about to board a flight to Hong Kong when she was held. During detailed scanning of her baggage, USD 4,80,200 wrapped in aluminum foil having a market value of Rs 3.25 crore, were recovered.
Officials said that during interrogation it came to fore that the woman was a carrier of a major international hawala syndicate and has carried foreign currency many times before also for a Delhi-based hawala operator, using similar modus operandi. The DRI has identified the operator as Amit Malhotra, a resident of Vivek Vihar area.
Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Tuesday sent the female flight attendant of Jet Airways and the alleged Hawala dealer to two days of judicial custody after they were arrested on charges to smuggle out foreign currency worth over Rs 3 crore.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ritu Singh sent 25-year-old Deveshi Kulshreshtha and 39-year-old Amit Malhotra to jail after the DRI requested the court that the accused be remanded to judicial custody for two weeks "for the time being".
Following the woman's questioning, Malhotra was also arrested after a raid. Some other crew members are also suspected to be involved in the case and efforts to find out the details are being made.
The DRI informed the court that on Monday, they seized Rs 3,09,72,900. The agency said that in her voluntary statement tendered under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962, Kulshreshtha had admitted the recovery.
"She also inter-alia named No 2 (Amit Malhotra), hereinabove to be concerned with the smuggling of the recovered and seized foreign currency," the agency informed the court, adding that Malhotra has also made similar statements. Following this, the court directed the accused be produced before the concerned magistrate on January 11.
