Two arrested for circulating defunct Brazilian currency

Those totally unaware about Brazil were their targets

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths claimed to have busted a racket involved in circulation of the withdrawn Brazilian currency Cruzeiro in the City, by arresting two persons on Sunday.

The police identified the suspects as Mohammad Shafi, 56 and Mubarak, 35, both residents of Davangere, and  seized 131 Cruzeiros from them.

The Cruzeiro was the currency of Brazil from 1942 to 1986 and again between 1990 and 1993. In 1994, it was replaced with the Real.

The worth of 131 Cruzeiros (before Cruzeiro was withdrawn) in comparison with the current Indian currency is Rs 17 crore, added the police.

“We received information about a gang active in selling the Cruzeiros in a few southern cities, including Bengaluru. We were alerted about two persons trying to sell the Cruzeiros near Bell Hotel on Sunday. We rushed there and arrested Shafi and Mubarak,” said a senior police officer.

“We did not know that the federal government of Brazil had withdrawn the circulation of the Cruzeiro till we checked on the Internet. A similar case was reported in Hyderabad some time ago. We are in touch with our Hyderabad counterparts to ascertain more information about the racket,” DCP (Crime) R Ramesh told Deccan Herald.

Shafi and Mubarak obtained the Cruzeiros from Jabeer and Faizal in Palakkad, Kerala a few days ago.

They used to contact a few customers and tell them that they could make money using the Cruzeiros.

They claimed that the customers would get Rs 1.31 crore if they deposited 131 Cruzeiros in selected banks and foreign exchange centres, added the police.

The duo told the customers that they were in need of money and hence were selling the Cruzeiros.

They claimed that they would be ready to sell 131 Cruzeiros for just Rs 13 lakh and had convinced the customers, added the police.

They would identify those customers who are totally unaware about Brazil and its national currency. The customers, who had no knowledge about withdrawal of the currency, would end up paying money in anticipation of a huge profit, the DCP said.

The police are verifying antecedents of Shafi and Mubarak to ascertain whether they were involved in any other crime.

The police suspect that a few gangs are active for the circulation of the Cruzeiros as they get them easily at a few port cities, said the police.