Bangladesh to South India: Fake currency takes another route

Just as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) completes one clean up act where the circulation of fake currency is concerned, another headache crops up.

This time it is a network in Telangana which has been sourcing fake currency from Bangladesh directly. The trail of the fake currency has been traced to Telangana and investigators say that it had first landed in Malda, West Bengal from Bangladesh.

The incident on hand has been reported from the Karimnagar district. A car laden with fake currency worth Rs 2.3 lakh had been seized and the police also took into custody four persons.

It was found that these persons had visited Malda and sourced the fake notes. Investigations also showed that two persons had brought down one consignment by train while the other by bus.

The trail into South India:

Malda has becoming a landing point for fake currency off late. Almost 99 per cent of the cases relating to fake currency have been reported from Malda.

Although the investigators have not found anything to suggest that the notes are being printed in Malda, there are clear indications that they have landed from Bangladesh.

This is to do with the fact that the notes which earlier would find its way into India through the Pakistan border has now changed route.

A majority of the notes are pushed directly into Bangladesh from Pakistan from where it is sent to India. Malda has been the landing point due to the proximity to the Bangladesh border.

There has been a demand for these notes which land in West Bengal as they are of very high quality and it is very difficult to tell the difference between the original and the fake.

NIA officials who have been probing these cases say that they will take a closer look at the one being investigated in Telangana as well. There is a clear trail and it is connected to the various cases that we have been probing the NIA says.

In the Telangana case, the police discovered that these four persons were brining down fake currency in smaller numbers as they were still testing the waters.

The notes seized which are in the denomination of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 were being handed out at small shops in smaller numbers. One of these notes had reached the hand of a man who unknowingly tried depositing it in a bank.

However, on being told that the note was fake, he reported the same immediately.
This led to the police investigation which ultimately managed to apprehend the accused. The police say that there are many other players and they are on their trail.

Most of these persons take the train out of Vizag to reach West Bengal. They source the fake currency and upon their return to Vizag they have a member of their gang waiting for them.

These persons are largely targeting smaller villages where the awareness is not very high, police officials also say.