A gang involved in circulating counterfeit notes nabbed

Fourth time unlucky

A gang involved in circulating counterfeit notes nabbed

The fourth visit to the national capital by a six-member gang to circulate fake notes proved unlucky for them.u00a0 The gang was arrested with fake currency notes worth Rs 3.20 lakh.

The thug club: A six-member gang, including three women, was
arrested by the crime branch of the Delhi Police for running a
counterfeit currency racket.u00a0PIC/MID DAY

The accused, including three women, had been camping in the capital for the last six days. They were residing in a rented accommodation in Okhla and discreetly circulating the fake notes. All accused identified as Aas Mohd, 28, Nanhe Miyan, 22, Shakil, 22, Noor Nisha, 26, Shahina Khatoon, 22 and Noor Jahan, 30 hail from Motihari district in Bihar.

According to the police, the kingpin of the gang identified as Raifullah from Raxaul in Bihar had co-ordinated with Aas Mohammed and others to circulate fake currency in Delhi. The gang had come to Delhi three times earlier and has already successfully circulated fake currency worth Rs 15 lakh. Then gang also had code words for the Rupees 1000 and the Rupees 500 notes they were circulating in the market. The 1000 rupees notes were called 'Badi Patti' while 'Chhotti Patti' was the code for the 500 rupees notes.

According to the police, the gang had a unique modus operandi.u00a0"During peak hours in busy market places when the shopkeepers were busy, women members of the gang would approach vendors, weekly bazaar shopkeepers and use the counterfeit notes of Rs 1000 or 500 denomination for purchasing small items of 100 rupees or so.

The male gang members would follow their female counterparts in order to assist if any suspicion arose. The male members would also look out for possible customers and lure them by offering two counterfeit 1000/500 currency notes in lieu of one genuine 1000/500 rupees note," said Neeraj Thakur, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime).

Thakur said the accused were arrested on specific inputs that they would come to Batla House to deliver fake currency to prospective buyers. The police laid a trap and sent a decoy customer at around 5 in the evening to receive the consignment. Once the deal was completed, all the accused were apprehended red-handed. Fake currency worth Rs 1,32,000 was seized from them. Fake currency notes worth Rs 1,88,000 were recovered from the rented accommodation at Nai Basti, Okhla, where the accused used to stay.

The police said efforts were on to nab other members of the gang, including the kingpin.