Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a protest petition before the 12th additional chief metropolitan magistrate at Nampally, urging the court to reject Hyderabad police’s closure report in the human hair smuggling case. The ED requested further investigation, arguing that it has substantial evidence in the case where it has filed a chargesheet and also attached property of accused.
The Central Crime Station (CCS), Hyderabad, had registered the FIR on Dec 14, 2021, against Nay La Family Exports Private Limited and others over allegations of use of benami Import Export Codes (IEC) for smuggling human hair to Myanmar, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China through Hyderabad airport as well as land routes via Mizoram. But the CCS later closed the case, citing lack of evidence. This has been challenged in court by the ED.
Illegal Network of Shell Entities and Hawala Transactions
According to the ED’s protest petition, Nay La Group had created multiple shell entities to facilitate exports via fraudulent IEC codes, abandoning entities whenever they encountered tax scrutiny and using a new IEC for fresh transaction. The payments for under-invoiced exports were allegedly routed through hawala channels. The estimated value of smuggled human hair was around Rs 8,000 crore per annum.
The ED said its probe revealed that human hair traders from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were conducting domestic sales through shell entities in north-eastern states and Kolkata, from where it was later smuggled to Myanmar and ultimately to China. Payments were reportedly received through mule bank accounts, hawala networks and Chinese apps. Large unaccounted cash deposits were identified in mule accounts in Mizoram, the ED said.
The ED said it had found substantial evidence of under-invoiced exports and illicit transactions during search operations on eight human hair traders in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and Tanuku in West Godavari district.
Role of Lucas Thangmangliana in Cross-Border Smuggling
The ED said it found that Mizoram resident Lucas Thangmangliana was involved in facilitating smuggling of human hair and fertilisers into Myanmar. He also allegedly assisted Myanmar residents in smuggling betel nuts into India and arranged hawala payments.
The modus operandi involved Thangmangliana receiving payments from buyers of smuggled human hair and fertilisers in Myanmar’s currency Kyat. He then used payments received from Indian betel nut buyers to pay human hair traders in India.
Subsequently, the ED filed a prosecution complaint before the metropolitan sessions judge-cum-special court under PMLA in Nampally. The court took cognisance on March 1, 2024, and issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against Thangmangliana (A1) and two others others. These NBWs were sent to the Guwahati zonal office, but could not be executed as the accused remain untraceable.
