Fake currency route: From Shalimar Gate, Lahore to West Bengal

New Delhi, Dec 21: Shalimar Gate in Lahore is not just any area. Like Clifton in Karachi which houses Dawood Ibrahim, the Shalimar Gate area in Lahore houses a notorious criminal who goes by the name Iqbal Kana.

Who is Iqbal Kana?

He is the man responsible for every fake Indian note that is being circulated in India.

His name has cropped up yet again during the investigations that were conducted in Bangladesh following the arrest of six operatives.

They all told the Bangladesh police that they were sent with fake currency from Pakistan and had to ensure that it landed in Malda, West Bengal. They further confessed to the police that the racket was being run and entirely controlled by Kana who incidentally is close to Dawood Ibrahim.

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Intelligence Bureau officials say that they have had Kana on their radar for long. He is clearly a member of the D-Gang. His current address has been located to the Shalimar Gate in Lahore. Kana who also goes by the alias Malkibhai has been handed over the over all charge of pumping fake currency into the Indian market.

He has handpicked his men for the job and stationed them in Bangladesh, Nepal and West Bengal.

The notes are printed in Pakistan and then routed either to Bangladesh or Nepal. From here the foot soldiers have to make sure that it lands up in Malda at West Bengal.

It is from here that the notes are sent to other parts of the country, the National Investigating Agency probing one of the many cases has found.

The going rate for the notes these days is Rs 40,000 for fake notes to the tune of Rs 1 lakh. There is a raging market for the same in India and Kana has set up his men in several locations who would collect these notes and then sell them. The Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations are still the preferred denomination. Any denomination below this would result in a loss.

The notes are often purchased by hawala operators and small time businessmen. These persons would then ensure that the same is circulated in the market. One common way of circulating these notes is by depositing it in the banks.

Banks are often crowded ahead of the festival season and taking advantage that the teller does not have the time to scrutinise every note, the perpetrators of this racket push the fake notes into the banks.

OneIndia News