Malda-based international fake Indian currency notes cartel busted; 2 arrested

Police have busted a Malda-based international fake Indian currency notes (FICN) cartel and arrested two persons here with currency having a face value of Rs four lakh, officials said on Saturday.

Those arrested have been identified as Aniqul Islam (24) and Shariqul Sheikh alias Sahim (21), both residents of Malda district in West Bengal, they said.

A total of Rs four lakh fake currency in the denomination of Rs 2,000 notes were recovered from them. The recovered notes are of high quality having all the security features, including security thread and watermarks etc, police said.

According to police, it was revealed that FICN is being pumped in India through the porous Indo-Bangla border.

On the basis of a tip-off, a raid was conducted on Friday and the suspect, members of Malda-based international syndicate, were apprehended near Dilshad Garden Metro Station when they reached there to deliver the recovered consignment of FICNs to one of their associates, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Rajiv Ranjan Singh said.

The duo was working for this syndicate for the last two to three years. They used to procure FICNs from their other associates at Malda and supply it in Delhi/NCR and UP. These FICNs are being smuggled from Bangadesh, through bordering areas, the DCP said.

They also revealed that they used to get FICNs from their associates at Malda at a lower price and supplied at higher price. They have already delivered about four to five consignments amounting over Rs 20 lakh in Delhi/NCR area, police said.

Malda has become an epicenter of various syndicates of FICNs and illegal drugs because of its strategic location along the porous international border of India and Bangladesh.

Both the persons were produced in the concerned court and taken on police custody remand, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)