Goa, June 9 -- In a major breakthrough against drug-linked money laundering, the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TGANB), in coordination with Goa Police, seized Rs 50 lakh in cash from an apartment in Goa believed to be part of a hawala network operated by an international drug cartel.

The cash - neatly packed and hidden inside a washing machine - was recovered from an apartment in the Highland Park complex during a late-night raid. Investigators say the amount was collected over just two days and was moments away from being transferred to Nigeria through informal financial channels.

The raid followed a month-long surveillance operation triggered by the arrest of a Nigerian national, Emmanuel Bediako alias Maxwell, in Hyderabad last we...