LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday arrested eight people in a crackdown on currency smugglers and hudi and hawala businesses, ARY News reported.
The FIA team raided Sadiq Plaza Mall Road, Nabha Road and Mouj Darya Road, checking more than 50 suspicious shops and sealing 22 involved in illegal currency exchange without the permission of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
FIA director Sarfaraz Khan said that the FIA team successfully recovered $214,000 USD and other foreign currencies worth at least Rs 26 million, adding that a total of Rs 324 million was recovered over two months.
He said that 79 people have been arrested, while 42 cases for illegal possession of foreign currency.
He lauded the efforts of the FIA team and vowed to continue the crackdown until the last illegal operative in the provincial capital is arrested.
Last month, the FIA stepped up its crackdown on hawala-hoodi operations and arrested seven suspected dealers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
FIA raid teams recovered receipts worth crores from the suspected hawala-hundi dealers.
According to the reports, the FIA officials raided seven locations in the KP Zone and arrested seven suspected hawala-hudi dealers besides filing cases.