Fake currency: New challenges ahead for NIA

New Delhi, Sept 28: The Joint Task force on Fake Currency Notes (FCN) between India and Bangladesh has seem some resounding success and has prompted the racketeers to find newer avenues.

While for the National Investigating Agency cracking down on several cases relating to is a major achievement, it would need to continue this fight as newer avenues are being explored by the racketeers.

After the Pakistan to India route to pump in fake currency was completely shut down by the security forces, the Bangladesh to West Bengal route became the new headache.

With cooperation from Bangladesh, the NIA has managed to arrest over 20 key operatives and also seize fake currency to the tune of Rs 30 crore. However what is more important for the NIA is that it is gradually busting the routes created by those dealing in fake currency.

The fight will go on:
The war against fake currency is an ongoing war. The stakes involved are so high that those behind this racket will continue to find newer routes. The Bangladesh to West Bengal route had become a major headache and there were units which managed to pump in fake currency into the rest of India with much ease.

There was a need for continued intelligence sharing with Bangladesh in order to crack down on this menace. Both the countries decided to establish a Joint Task Force on Fake Currency and this gave the NIA the much needed dividends.

The NIA counterparts in Bangladesh are not only involved in providing key intelligence, but also have carried out arrests and seizures. Only last week Bangladesh seized fake currency worth Rs 2.70 crore at the Chittagong port.

A new route discovered:
The NIA while analyzing the recent seizures has however discovered that there is a newer route that is being explored by the Pakistan sponsored racketeers of fake currency. The NIA has learnt that there is a manufacturing unit that has been set up now in Saudi Arabia from where fake currency is being pushed into the Indian market.

Those part of this racket have now been pushing the fake currency into the North Eastern states. With the West Bengal module busted, the new landing point is Tripura, the NIA has learnt. Various routes have been taken to ensure that the fake currency reaches the North Eastern states. One such route discovered is via Colombo.

NIA officials say that the war against fake currency would be a continuous one. With Bangladesh we have drafted a standard operating procedure to curb the menace of fake currency. Such operations will need to be carried out with the help of other nations as well, the NIA officer also informed.

OneIndia News