Sukkur [Pakistan], December 3 : Foreign currency amounting to over 1,035,000 Pakistan Rupees (PKR) has been seized by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from an inter-city bus travelling from Sukkur to Karachi, ARY News reported.
The FIA Sukkur Deputy Director, Hafeez Chachar, disclosed that during a raid on the bus, significant amounts of foreign and local currencies were recovered, including 147,000 Saudi riyals (SAR), 20,000 US dollars (USD), and PKR 70 million.
Two individuals were apprehended during the operation, with Chachar claiming that the confiscated money was destined for use in the hawala-hundi business, according to ARY News.
The FIA has intensified its efforts to combat illegal currency exchange and hawala-hundi activities across Pakistan. In the past 11 months, a total of 711 individuals allegedly involved in such practices have been arrested.
The FIA spokesperson reported that 499 raids were conducted, resulting in 500 registered cases and the apprehension of 711 suspects. The crackdown covered various zones, including 333 arrests in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) zone, 79 in Lahore, 24 in Gujranwala, 67 in Faisalabad, 53 in Multan, 26 in Islamabad, 77 in Karachi, 32 in Hyderabad, and 20 in Balochistan.
The seized funds included over PKR 7,99,060 US dollars and more than PKR 380 million in various other foreign currencies. Additionally, over 3.67 billion in Pakistani rupees were recovered.
The nationwide raids resulted in the closure of more than 28 plazas, markets, and shops involved in illegal currency exchange.
Law enforcement agencies collaborated in the arrests, emphasising a comprehensive approach to punish those engaged in currency smuggling and illegal financial activities. The FIA remains committed to using all available resources to ensure stringent action against individuals participating in hawala-hundi and illegal currency exchange activities, ARY News reported.
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