An alleged fake currency racket was busted with the arrest of a Delhi-based trio as counterfeit notes of a face value of Rs 2.82 lakh were seized from their possession, police said today.
According to police, the three accused -- identified as Harish Kumar, Pankaj and Kanwaljeet Singh -- used to route the fake currency via West Bengal and Bihar.
Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of Rs 2.82 lakh -- in notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination -- have been seized from the accused.
Police said that Harish, in his late twenties and a driver by profession, was arrested on the basis of a tip-off and fake currency of Rs 2.50 lakh recovered from his possession which was wrapped in Hindi and Bengali-language newspaper sheets.
Harish then led police to Pankaj and Kanwaljeet, from whom fake notes of Rs 18,000 and Rs 14,000 face value were recovered.
"Harish disclosed that he met one Arjun Sharma in Tihar Jail in 2013 who was arrested in an FICN case. Sharma asked Harish to meet him after his release.
"In August/September, 2015, Arjun Sharma met Harish and introduced him to Munna Bhaiya, the kingpin based in Bettiah of Bihar who lured him into joining the illegal syndicate," said Joint Commissioner of Police (crime), Ravindra Yadav.
Yadav said that Harish thereafter started bringing fake currency into the Delhi-NCR region and circulating the same in the various marketplaces.
Harish told police he had brought fake currency of a face value of approximately Rs 35 lakh into Delhi in about 10 consignments and had distributed it using his local network.
