Demonetisation: Delhi Police recovers Rs 3.25 crore in old notes from hotel raid

New Delhi: Delhi Police raided a hotel in Karol Bagh here and recovered Rs 3.25 crore in demonetised notes from five persons, police said on Wednesday.

Based on secret information, the Crime Branch conducted a joint raid with Income Tax officials late last night at Taksh Inn in Karol Bagh and found five persons in two rooms of the hotel carrying a total amount of Rs 3.25 crore, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).

Representational image. PTI

The five men are carriers and have been identified as Ansari Abuzar, Fazal Khan, Ansari Affan, Ladu Ram and Mahaveer Singh, he said. The recovered amount was kept in different suitcases and cardboard box.

It was found during interrogation that the money belongs to some Mumbai-based hawala operators, said the officer.

"They had hired packaging specialists who pack these notes in such a manner that they are even undetectable by airport scanning machines. Experts in packaging are using some tapes and wires which pass through X-ray," he said.

The Income Tax department has seized the cash and is analysing the mobile phone details of these people since their phones contain details of lot of other hawala operators, he added.