Fake currency worth Rs 50 lakh seized

The consignment was despatched from Dubai and were to be delivered to an unidentified consignee at Bangalore. The fake notes were sent by post parcel to avoid detection, DRI officials further added.

DRI officials now suspect that the consignor’s name and address is fake. He could be a front man of an underworld gang using bases in the United Arab Emirates, said officials.

Officials after opening the parcel found 9995 notes of Rs 500 denomination cleverly stacked in the bottom of a box covered with a blanket and some readymade garments.

Prima facie it appears that the notes may have been printed at the behest of the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence. The role of some underworld gang based at Karachi is not ruled.

Eyewitnesses said though the print was a little faint, the quality of the paper and the printing was very similar to the genuine notes issued by the Reserve Bank of India.

Incidentally, this is the first major seizure this year. Counterfeit notes worth more than Rs 4 crore were seized in seperate raids in the city last year.

Police investigations have revealed that the fakes notes were widely circulated in beer bars and hotels located on the national highways at around 40 percent of the face value. Some notes are also used to perpetuate diamond trade, gunrunning and drug cartels