Hawala trader Paras Lodha arrested, sent to ED custody

New Delhi, Dec 22: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has arrested hawala trader Paras Mal Lodha here for converting over Rs 25 crore demonetised notes linked to industrialist J. Sekhar Reddy and lawyer Rohit Tandon into new currency. A city court later sent Lodha to seven-day ED custody. The Kolkata-based businessman was arrested on Wednesday evening after hours of questioning by the ED officials. The ED booked Lodha under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and produced him before a court here on Thursday seeking his custody to track other accused involved in the corruption. Additiol Sessions Judge Sanjeev Jain sent Lodha to seven-day ED custody. Lodha, a leading businessman with interests in real estate and mining, was intercepted by a team of ED sleuths at the Mumbai airport on Wednesday while he was trying to flee to Malaysia. Officials said that separate teams were sent to Kolkata and Mumbai to arrest Lodha who facilitated businessman Shekhar Reddy and owner of T&T law firm Rohit Tandon convert their old high value currency into new currency. (IANS)