90% fake notes enters India via Bengal, says NIA

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that 90% of fake notes are pumped into India via Malda border in West Bengal. It also found that most of the notes which entered into the country have been printed in Pakistan and were routed to India through Bangladesh.

Around Rs 1,500 crore of counterfeit notes entered India through Malda border, TOI reported, citing NIA which is interrogating a couple of people arrested by the Border Security Force with such notes.

NIA has recently arrested Sajib-ul-Haq (20), Anwar (21), Jamal Sheik (24) and Akram (19), Habibul Rahaman (26), Abdul Mutalik (25) and Prashant Mondal (23) from Chennai and Hyderabad.

Investigators have found that a lot of Pakistanis have set up shops in Bangladesh. These shops are breeding ground for trading such notes which are eventually routed to India.

Malda is an easy landing point as it borders Bangladesh. This racket has been going on for the past four to five years.

After taking the charge of probe on June 12, the NIA took custody of three people - Soaul, Jhonny Sheik and Shahjahan - all from Malda and brought them to Delhi on transit remand for interrogation.

The probe revealed that there are several modules mainly in the bordering blocks like Kaliachawk, Chachol, Gazol and Manikchawk areas which are active in bringing fake currency notes from Bangladesh.

"After the money comes to the hands of these module operatives, they pick up several youths to execute the job. They go to major cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru and start working as construction labourers. Along with their work they start circulating the notes in installments. They stay on in these cities for a couple of months and manage to circulate at least Rs 2 lakh fake currency," an investigating officer told TOI.

"The commission offered them Rs 100 to Rs 200 for circulating Rs 1,000 fake notes," the officer said.

The investigators have also found that the quality of the notes was superior, making it very difficult for the common man to understand that it is a fake currency.

"Sometimes it is even difficult for the bank personnel to realise the difference without a forensic test. This is really alarming," an officer said.

(Image: Reuters)