CHENNAI: The police seized Rs 1.08 crore of unaccounted cash from a van after intercepting it at the Padiyanallur checkpost near Red Hills on Saturday and detained three persons, including two from Andhra Pradesh, for questioning.

The personnel stopped the vehicle, which was travelling from Andhra Pradesh to Chennai, for a routine vehicle inspection.

The police said the cash was concealed in three bags hidden among courier parcels. As the trio failed to produce valid documents for the money, the police later handed them over to the Income Tax Department.

The occupants in the vehicle, Praveen (30) and Pawan (28), both from Andhra Pradesh, along with the van driver Rambabu (40), told the police that they were carrying the money to Chennai to purchase gold jewellery. However, as they could not furnish documents to establish the source or ownership of the cash, the police suspected it could be hawala money and seized the cash.