DRI busts 7 fake currency printing modules in nationwide raids including Telangana, AP

Hyderabad: DRI searches conducted in various States including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have busted seven modules on Thursday involved in the printing of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN). Nine persons have been arrested so far for running the modules.

The raids in 11 places across States also including Maharashtra (4), Haryana (1) Bihar (1) and Tamil Nadu were part of the DRI’s special drive against modules involved in the import of security paper and printing fake currency.

5 persons were held in February first week

Earlier on February 8, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested two persons found importing high-quality paper with embedded security thread having inscriptions of ‘RBI’ and ‘Bharat’ (‘security paper’) in Ghazipur District, Uttar Pradesh, and Bengaluru, Karnataka. In the follow-up on the next day, DRI busted two facilities in Thane in Maharashtra and Bhiwani District in Haryana printing FICN using imported security papers, where three persons were arrested by the police based on a complaint made by DRI.

In the present case, in Vikhroli West, Mumbai, DRI identified and located the importer. After a thorough search in a densely populated locality, a sophisticated facility for printing and finishing the Fake Indian Currency Notes was unearthed and fake currency of denomination of Rs 50 and Rs 100 and several machinery/tools were seized.

Seized items include laptops, printers, pen drives, security paper, A-4 sized papers and butter paper with a watermark of Mahatma Gandhi etc. On the basis of the complaint filed by DRI officers, the person was arrested and all the apparatus and tools were seized by the jurisdictional police authorities under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for further investigation.

In Sangamner district and in Kolhapur district, the DRI unearthed a similar set-up with computers and printers, which were being used to print fake Indian notes. At both places, on the basis of the complaint filed by DRI officers, the two accused were arrested and the contraband was seized by the jurisdictional police authorities under BNS for further investigation.

Importers of security paper traced to West Godavari

The questioning of the accused in the Kolhapur module led to the busting of another module with printing set up in Belgaum, by Kolhapur police, who arrested three more persons in the case.

In three other locations—West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh; Khagaria District in Bihar and Rohtak in Haryana—the importers of the security paper were traced. Incriminating evidence such as restricted security paper and printer at West Godavari; laptops, printers and restricted security paper at Khagaria district were also recovered.

The three accused have been arrested by jurisdictional police based on a complaint by DRI officials and the matter has been handed over for further investigation under BNS.