Six crore seized in fake currency, ISI suspected

In one of the biggest seizures of fake currency by Delhi Police, notes with a face value of over six crore rupees were recovered from two men in south-west Delhi on Thursday afternoon. Police suspect the involvement of Pakistan’s spy agency, the ISI.

The arrested men have been identified as Mohammad and Hassan. Police, however, refused to give more details about the accused. The counterfeit notes were concealed in 33 cloth bundles and loaded on two tempos in a godown at Dabri in south-west Delhi.

“The fake currency notes were tucked between two layers of bedclothes and were in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. We are tracing the route taken by the two accused in smuggling the consignment to Delhi,” said a senior police officer. Delhi Police sources said the consignment originated from Pakistan and was sent to India by Iqbal Kana, a native of Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, who now lives in Lahore and acts on the instructions of  Inter-Services Intelligence. While the police are yet to ascertain the route taken by this time but suspect the possibility of the fake cash being smuggled in through the porous Indo-Nepal.

In the past, the ISI has also pushed in counterfeit currency through Bangladesh, Nepal and the sea routes. “This seizure is one of the biggest hauls in the country. The counterfeit notes were sent from a foreign country and look as good as original,” the officer said. “So far, we have counted notes with a face value of more than Rs 6 crore. The final count may be more,” the officer said, adding the recovered notes were in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

Delhi Police is in touch with the RBI and the CBI in connection with the seizure. According to official figures, the Delhi Police have seized counterfeit Indian currency notes with a face value of Rs 3,06, 36, 790 in the last five years. They have also recovered fake Dollar and Euro notes with face values of 5,800 and 2,000. The Rs 100 note is the favourite among counterfeiters as it is the most seized currency in the past five years.