Delhi Police today claimed to have busted a racket which was smuggling Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) into India through Bangladesh as it nabbed four members of the gang including a juvenile and recovered counterfeit notes of the face value of Rs 6.25 lakh.
Those arrested have been identified as Bihar-based mastermind Shahnawaj Ansari and his close aide Sheikh Noor Ullah who heads Delhi operation of the syndicate along with their carriers, namely Sheikh Ata Ullah and one juvenile in conflict with law. The FICN recovered from them was in the denomination of Rs 1,000.
Police had received a tip off on February 23 that two persons namely Sheikh Noor Ullah and Sheikh Ata Ullah would come under the flyover at Ring Road near ISBT, Kashmere Gate, Delhi to supply FICN.
"Acting on the tip off, the police team swung into action and apprehended two persons namely, Sheikh Noor Ullah and Sheikh Ata Ullah from the place of information. On their cursory search, FICN of Rs 1,00,000 were seized from Sheikh Noor Ullah and Sheikh Ata Ullah each," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav.
During police custody of Sheikh Noor Ullah and Sheikh Ata Ullah, lead to arrest of Shahnawaj Ansari, a Bihar-based kingpin of the racket and FICN to the tune of Rs 3,75,000 was recovered from his possession while Rs 30,000 was seized from his house in Betia, Bihar.
One of their associates who happens to be a juvenile was also apprehended and Rs 20,000 FICN was recovered from him, he added.
During sustained interrogation of the accused persons, it was revealed that this FICN syndicate was being run by Shahnawaj Ansari, the kingpin in association with some persons from Betia, Bihar and Farakka, West Bengal through their Delhi based racketeers.
It also came to notice that the members of this syndicate used to change their hideouts and descriptions frequently to conceal their identity and to avoid detection. Sheikh Ata Ullah and the juvenile in conflict with law were indulging in circulation of FICN in the busy markets of Delhi & NCR to make maximum profit.
FICNs are being trafficked from Bangladesh to Farakka, West Bengal from where the kingpin Shahnawaj gets the consignment and circulate in India through his men in Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Delhi and Bihar.
"Consignment from Farakka were being collected at value of 30% to 40% of the FICN and the kingpin used to provide the same to his other gang members at the value of 50% to 60% of the FICN. The gang members also used to circulate the FICN in busy/weekly markets," said Yadav.
Investigation of the case is in progress and efforts are being made to trace the remaining sources and its local receivers who are involved in circulation of FICN in India.
