Consignment of fake `100 notes busted

THIS IS THE FIRST SEIZURE OF `100 NOTES POST-DEMONETISATION. THE TWO ACCUSED ARE SAID TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH PAKISTAN’S ISI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police special cell on Friday arrested two men, reportedly associated with the ISI, and seized `6 lakh in fake `100 notes that they were allegedly trying to funnel into India.

According to sources, the consignment worth `6 lakh of FICN (fake Indian currency notes) was being smuggled from Nepal. Sources said that earlier the Malda route was used to pump in FICN of `2,000 denomination.

Police said the Border Security Force (BSF) and the National Investigating Agency (NIA) busted that module while the special cell of Delhi Police made the seizure in the capital’s Sonia Vihar area. This is the first seizure of 100rupee notes post-demonetisation.

One of the main aims of demonetising high-value bank notes was to prevent fake currency from being pumped into the economy. But a spate of seizures recently, including some of high denominations, indicates that counterfeiters do not seem to have been hit hard.

Last Tuesday, the NIA seized three “high quality” fake `2,000 banknotes from a fugitive accused of operating a counterfeit Indian money racket, who was ferrying these samples to a fellow racketeer. The three notes looked identical to the original. A detailed forensic analysis is on to check how many security features of the genuine currency have been found to be replicated in them.

The BSF had also seized 40 fake currency notes in `2,000 denomination on February 8 in West Bengal’s Malda district, which is on the Indo-Bangladesh border. Last month, the Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested three men and claimed to have busted a fake currency printing racket.

RELATED REPORT >>P2