Crime branch busts inter-state fake currency racket - Times of India - Ahmedabad 02 May 08

Crime branch busts inter-state fake currency racket

Fraudsters Deposited Rs 3 Lakh In Various Private Banks: Police

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: The next time you take a Rs 100 or a Rs 500 currency note, check it twice. If crime branch officials are to be believed, an inter-state gang has injected around 30,000 fake currency notes in the city through private banks. According to city crime branch officials, five denizens brought fake currency from Uttar Pradesh and deposited it in three private banks. The idea was to earn quick money. The racket was busted on Wednesday afternoon on the basis of a tip-off. “We got a tip-off that some people were dealing in fake money worth lakhs and all the accused worked at a bakery. We came to know about their technique and kept a watch near Ghantakarna Mahavir Market, where they came to deposit fake currency,” said MD Chaudhary, inspector of crime branch. Police nabbed the gang after UP police arrested one of the gangs accomplice from Delhi. Farhan Abdul Aziz, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, along with Iqbal Bandu Ahmed, a resident of Amrola, were arrested by Delhi police for a fake currency racket two months ago. Another member Shamsu, is still at large. Police recovered fake currency worth Rs 1.17 lakh from the duo when they were arrested in Delhi. Chaudhary said the five accused — Ishtiyaq Ahmed Ansari, a resident of Rajpur tollnaka, Akram Ansari, a resident of Narol crossroads, Ishtiyaq Salmani, a resident of Intwada, Saraspur, Nasir Ansari, a resident of Kalupur bridge and Fahim Ansari, a resident of Idgah, Asarwa bridge — work at a bakery at Asarwa. They were arrested with 384 fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 38,400. They also had five ATM cards of private banks, three bikes and four mobile phones between them. “Fahim came in contact with Aziz five months ago when he had first come to Ahmedabad. Aziz had introduced him to this idea of buying fake notes and then ‘turning’ them genuine. He offered to give Ansari fake currency notes in lieu of money at half the currency value. The gang members got Rs 3 lakh worth fake currency at Rs 1.5 lakh over two months,” said Chaudhary. Explaining their modus operandi, HR Muliyana, assistant commissioner of police, crime branch, said that the gang members would deposit huge sums of fake currency in various bank accounts and withdraw genuine currency from ATMs. “One of the members would go to the bank and deposit fake currency. Later, another member went to another ATM and withdrew it from there,” Muliyana added. City crime branch has sought a 14-day remand for the accused in the fake currency racket from the city sessions court on Thursday.