ED Uncovers ₹50-Crore Human Hair Export Hawala Ring At Chennai Airport
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has uncovered an alleged ₹50-crore hawala network linked to illegal human hair exports following a key interception at the Chennai International Airport. The agency launched a crackdown under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), targeting multiple premises connected to Chennai-based exporters M/s. Nandalala Enterprises and M/s. Ram Hair Impex.
The investigation began when ED officials intercepted a Senegalese national at the airport who had arrived in Chennai from Mumbai. The traveler was found carrying foreign currency, specifically US Dollars, equivalent to ₹1.15 crore.
According to the ED, the individual had entered India through Mumbai but deliberately failed to declare the cash to Customs authorities to bypass official banking channels. When questioned, the foreign national could not produce any legal documentation to prove the currency was acquired from authorized sources, prompting the agency to seize the money.
Enquiries by the federal agency exposed a systematic, long-running smuggling and hawala operation. The Senegalese national had been frequently traveling to India, roughly once every two months over the past two to three years. The primary purpose of these trips was to deliver undocumented foreign currency cash as illicit payments to Nandalala Enterprises and Ram Hair Impex.
Both Chennai-based businesses are engaged in procuring, processing, and exporting human hair to overseas buyers, particularly across African countries. The cash drops were allegedly utilized to settle trade balances outside standard regulatory oversight.
Following the airport interception, the ED launched intensive search operations at three premises belonging to the firms and their proprietors in Chennai. The searches yielded evidence of large-scale FEMA violations, including financial records indicating the routine receipt of export proceeds in foreign currency cash, the utilization of Dubai-based overseas entities to facilitate business transactions, and direct communications establishing the execution of hawala networks.
Search teams also seized ₹5.39 lakh in Indian currency, $16,823 in US Dollars, and €1,860 in Euros on-site. The ED has taken custody of all incriminating digital devices and records for forensic evaluation as the investigation continues.
