Fake Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000 denominations worth Rs 3.98 lakh made in Bangladesh were confiscated in the Old city part of Hyderabad on Friday by the Task Force. The Hyderabad police arrested two from whom the counterfeit notes were recovered.
The South Zone Task Force of the Hyderabad police arrested Mohammad Ghouse alias Bomb Ghouse, a known history-sheeter. He was earlier booked in 1991 under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1985. Police also arrested Rabiul Shaik, a 22-year-old from Malda in West Bengal for acting as a courier. Police are on the lookout for the third accused, Aminul Rehman alias Bablu, who procured the fake currency.
The Task Force nabbed the duo while they were exchanging the fake notes at Hashmabad area based on a tip-off.
“The paper quality in the counterfeit currency is good. It has the watermark, security thread, bleed lines, micro-lettering, see-through number panel, latent image, intaglio and optically variable ink features. It is difficult to identify the seized material as counterfeit currency with a naked eye,” said Anjani Kumar, Hyderabad police commissioner at a press briefing.
Ghouse, who works as a fruit vendor at Talabkatta, has 14 cases pending against him in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. He last came out of jail this January and had earlier been arrested on charges of distributing fake currency.
Ghouse got in touch with Aminul through a contact in the Rajahmundry Central jail.
Aminul is from Krishnapur village very close to the Indo-Bangladesh border and procured high-quality counterfeit currency that was printed in Bangladesh through his contacts. Rabiul was tasked with handing over the fake currency to Ghouse.
Police say Ghouse was in touch with Aminul and asked him to send Rs 3.98 lakh worth of fake Indian currency through Rabiul. The duo was arrested before they could exchange the fake notes.