Rs 2.19 cr hawala money seized

Chandigarh, Dec 14: Busting a hawala and black money racket, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday seized Rs 2.19 crore, including nearly Rs 17.75 lakh in new currency, from a trader here.ED officials said a house was raided in Sector 22 here on Wednesday following a tip-off that black money associated with illegal hawala trade was kept there.Deputy Superintendent of Police Ram Gopal told the media that a cloth trader, Inderpal Mahajan, in whose house the money was kept, was booked and arrested following the raid.The ED and police had raided a few places here in connection with illegal money.The raids and searches are being conducted by the ED to recover black money following the demonetization move of the central government which was announced on November 8.