Four arrested for printing counterfeit Australian dollars in Ahmedabad

Investigators on Thursday said Ahmedabad Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) busted the racket after being tipped off about counterfeit currency circulation in Vejalpur

Four people, including an Australian resident, have been arrested for printing counterfeit Australian dollars at a warehouse in Vatva in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.

A high-end printing machine worth ₹9,00,000, a desktop computer, and a laptop were recovered. (HT PHOTO)

Investigators on Thursday said Ahmedabad Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) busted the racket after it was tipped off about counterfeit currency circulation in Ahmedabad’s Vejalpur.

Ronak Rathod, 24, a labourer, was first arrested while attempting to exchange 119 counterfeit Australian $50 notes. He told interrogators that he had received the fake currency from Khush Patel, 24, who was arrested and led police to the alleged mastermind Maulik Patel, 36, a transport business owner.

The SOG found Maulik Patel worked with student Dhruv Desai, 20, to print counterfeit Australian dollars at a facility in Vatva. It recovered 32 finished counterfeit $50 notes and 18 partially printed sheets.

A high-end printing machine worth ₹9,00,000, a desktop computer, and a laptop were recovered from the gang. The gang used specialised plastic sheets for currency printing and other materials for the counterfeiting process.

The total value of seized items, including seven mobile phones worth ₹2,10,000 and ₹16,500 in Indian currency, amounted to ₹11,92,500. Police also recovered genuine currency presumably used as templates for counterfeiting.

Three people were arrested last month for allegedly duping a bullion trader in the Navrangpura area of ₹1.6 crore through a scheme involving imitation of ₹500 notes. The fake notes were designed with the image of Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, replacing Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait. The scam unfolded as part of a deal involving 2,100 grams of gold valued ₹1.6 crore.