Counterfeit Indian currency seized, one held

Chennai, Oct 30 (UNI) The officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized counterfeit Indian Currency to the tune of Rs 30 lakhs, from a passenger-carrier, and arrested one person in this connection at the Anna International Airport here on Friday last.

In a press release here today, DRI Additional Director General Dr P Babu said acting on a specific intelligence the DRI official intercepted one Rafeeq Mohamed, a passenger who arrived from Colombo, and checked his baggages and effected the seizure.

He said the fake currency notes were wrapped in a newspaper and concealed in the inner sides of the card board boxes. In all, 1449 notes in Rs 1000 denomination and 3009 notes in Rs 500 denomination were seized.

During the interrogation the detained passenger told the officials that he went to Colombo on October 24 with another person from Kerala and the latter received the card board boxes containing fake Indian currency from a Sri Lankan outside the Colombo airport to be carried to Chennai and handed over to a Keralite in Chennai for a monetary consideration of Rs 15,000, the release said.

He said the Chennai-based Keralite and his associate who came to receive the passenger-carrier were apprehended at the airport. On a search of places of their stay, counterfeit currency notes worth about Rs 10 lakhs were seized.

Later, the arrested was remanded to judicial custody,the release added.

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