Two women held in Delhi with fake currency notes

Two women were arrested here for smuggling fake Indian currency notes (FICN) from Bangkok, police said Saturday.

Rekha, 40, and Sheetal Singh, 36, were held from New Delhi Railway Station Thursday on a tip-off as soon as they got down from a train.

"The two women were arrested with FICN worth (having a face value of) Rs.11 lakh. Concealed in the boxes of cosmetic products, the women were smuggling the fake notes to Delhi from Bangkok," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said.

"The women used to conceal fake currency notes in cosmetic and crockery containers which they carry in flights as part of their business," he said.

Rekha, a widow, has been in this illegal trade for the past couple of years while Sheetal just joined her for earning easy money.

"They have revealed that they were acting as courier agents at the behest of some Pakistan nationals, who are based in Bangkok," Yadav said.

"Their arrest led us to know of a new fake currency smuggling route to India via Bangkok. Till now, Nepal and Bangladesh route were known," he said.

The official said the notes were concealed so skilfully that they had evaded the vigilance at the airport.

"The accused had prepared small rolls of FICN and carefully packed the same with tissue paper and tape. The same were concealed after emptying talcum powder containers and then refilling the remaining portion with talcum powder," the official said.

Rekha told interrogators that she was approached for this illegal trade by a man whom she had met some years ago at Gaffar market here.

The fake currency notes were given to her by Raja and Amjad, both Pakistan nationals. The consignment was to be handed over to a receiver in Turkman Gate area in Delhi.

"Rekha disclosed that she had another contact in Bangkok named Ashish, a Nepali citizen, who had discussed with her the lucrative proposition of smuggling party drugs to India from Bangkok," he said.