SEIZURES MADE EARLIER

DRI seizure: Organised gangs distribute fake currency

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to take over the investigation into the Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) racket busted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Visakhapatnam. The DRI sleuths had seized fake notes of `2,000 denomination with a face value of `10.20 lakh from the HowrahHyderabad East Coast Express two days ago.

The Union government has set up a terror funding and fake currency cell in the NIA to focus on cases of counterfeit currency. Intelligence agencies suspect fake currency notes cases are directly or indirectly linked to terror funding and other anti-national activities.

Post-demonetisation, the Central and state law enforcement agencies detected many cases of fake currency in the two Telugu states. Officials say that Malda district in West Bengal is a key destination for pumping fake currency into the country through criminal networks. The money is coming in from Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, the officials said.

In the latest case busted by the DRI, the accused had planned to exchange the notes during the forthcoming elections in Karnataka.

According to a senior official of the NIA, an organised syndicate distributes fake currency throughout the country. “Generally, the currency is exchanged in the ratio of 1:2 locally or 1:3 in the border areas. The borders being porous and the fence small, the person from the neighbouring country throws wads of FICN into the Indian side,” said an official.

Altogether, fake Indian currency notes of face value of `21.54 crore was seized by security agencies after demonetisation, of `1,000 and ` 500 notes, the Minister of State for Home, Hansraj Ahir, said recently in the Lok Sabha. The seized currency includes new `2,000, `500, `200 notes and `100 notes.