Fake currency racket busted, six arrested

Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police on Sunday claimed to have cracked a fake currency racket here after arresting six persons for allegedly possessing counterfeit currency notes with a face value of Rs 20.50 lakh.

Six persons were arrested from Surajpur area last night following a tip off on the arrival of a consignment of fake currency, smuggled from neighbouring countries, police said.

The arrested have been identified as Tan Mohammad, Abu Tahir, residents of Malda district in West Bengal, Sohanvir Singh, Udayvir, Rohtash and Dharmendra, who belong to Firozabad, police said.

During interrogation, the arrested persons revealed that their kingpin belonged to West Bengal, they said.

The fake currency was in the denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500. Rs 4 lakh of original currency, car used in the crime and seven mobile phones were also seized from their possession, police said adding, the gang was active in West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

According to police, the fake currency was to be handed over to the agents of the gang in NCR region, who would have given it to small distributors for further circulation.