International counterfeit currency racket busted, four held in Delhi

Four members of an international gang involved in circulating Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), pumped into India by Pakistan via Bangladesh, have been arrested, police said on Friday.

Sheikh Fazullah, 25, Sheikh Sehzad, 39, Habibur Rehman, 35, and Rehman, 42, were arrested from Delhi and Bihar in a series of raids conducted by Delhi Police this week.

"We were trailing the racket for more than last four months and managed to identify their names. We recovered FICN having face value of Rs 10.25 lakh (in denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500) from the possession of the arrested persons," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Yadav.

Sehzad and Fazullah, both belong to same village in Bihar's Motihari district and currently residing in Uttar Pradesh' Meerut, were arrested on June 25 while exchanging a consignment of FICN near Wazirpur bus depot in north Delhi.

Rehman was arrested near east Delhi's Dilshad Garden Metro Station on June 27 with FICN with face value of Rs 25,000, while Habibur Rehman was held Friday in Bihar where he had come to deliver a consignment of FICN with a face value of Rs 6 lakh.

The officer said that the FICN was being pumped by Pakistan in India through Bangladesh. "These fake notes are first smuggled in Malda (West Bengal) through Bangladesh-India border and then handed over to FICN racketeers in various parts of the country including Delhi. The exchange of these fake notes also take place through Nepal border," the officer said.

The arrested persons revealed police that the prevailing market rate is Rs 40-50 for each Rs 100 note of fake currency. "As large transactions are still made in cash, hence, there is huge demand of fake currency in Delhi-NCR," the officer said.

"The currency notes have most of the security features and it is impossible to differentiate with naked eyes. They further told that all the new security features introduced by the government are quickly updated in fake currency notes also," the officer said.

Sehzad, Fazullah and Rehman informed police that they used to receive FICN consignments from Bihar and then sold it to retail customers in smaller quantities of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.

The officer said that Habibur Rehman and his cousin Jamal, who is still absconding, are the main suppliers of FICN and they used to run this racket in partnership.

Habibur Rehman revealed that many of his family members are indulged in smuggling of FICN, the officer said.

"Further investigation of case is in progress. Efforts to nab remaining members of this syndicate are being made. A team is already in West Bengal to arrest remaining members of this syndicate," the officer said.

--IANS

rak/vd