Fake currency racket busted; three arrested

Hyderabad Police today busted a counterfeit Indian currency smuggling racket and nabbed three persons from here after seizing fake notes with a face value of Rs 9 lakh smuggled from Dubai. Sleuths of Commissioner's Task Force (North Zone) nabbed Mohammed Aqeel Marfani, who is into furniture sales business along with two others Ghiyas Mohiuddin and Md Taufeeq Ahmed (both fake currency notes circulating agents). Marfani is the smuggler of fake currency from Dubai while the supplier of counterfeit Indian currency notes Mohd Yaseen, who is presently staying at Karachi in Pakistan, is absconding, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Commissioner s Task Force) B Limba Reddy told reporters here. In July last year, accused Marfani went to Sharjah and worked at a sanitary shop. He came into contact with his maternal uncle Yaseen and requested him to arrange good job in any company to get high salary, police said. To which, his uncle offered a deal to him stating that he is having counterfeit Indian currency of Rs 9 lakh that he will send to Dubai from Karachi through his agent and advised him to collect it and circulate them in Hyderabad, police said. As per instructions of Yaseen, Marfani collected the fake notes through an agent in Dubai and flew to Hyderabad on October 3 (this year) and also got the fake notes transported to Hyderabad and kept the bag containing the fake notes at his house. In order to circulate the fake currency he contacted Ghiyas Mohiuddin and Taufeeq and all of them conspired to cheat people by ciruclating the fake currency, the DCP said. "According to their criminal conspiracy, the three accused came near a hotel under Mahankali police station limits with the fake notes today when the Task Force team on a tip of information police apprehended them and seized the fake notes in denomination of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes," Reddy said. "The investigation is on to find the other accused, who are involved with the trio in smuggling and trying to circulate the fake notes and we are also investigating their links with some other places," the senior police officer said. A case has been registered with Mahankali police under relevant sections of IPC and other provisions of Prevention of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.