First time since note ban: Fake ₹2,000 notes seized in Mumbai, 1 held

Sources said the accused was intercepted at Mumbra where 349 counterfeit notes amounting to ₹6.98 lakh were found in his bag.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized fake currency notes for the first time in the city after demonetisation. The DRI arrested a man from Mumbra with fake ₹2,000 notes amounting to ₹7.56 lakh.

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Sources said the accused (name withheld as further probe was underway), who is 36 years old, was intercepted at Mumbra where 349 counterfeit notes — also called fake Indian currency notes (FICN) — amounting to ₹6.98 lakh were found in his bag. After he was interrogated, the DRI also conducted searches at Bangalore where fake notes of ₹58,000 were recovered.

“Preliminary investigations revealed the intercepted person got the fake notes from an associate in Islampur, West Bengal,” said a source. Islampur, located in West Dinajpur district, is close to the Bangladesh border. “It is suspected the notes were printed and smuggled from Bangladesh.”

The notes are of good quality, the source said. “It will be difficult for a common man to recognise the note is counterfeit,” said the source. Sources said the notes will be sent to the currency note press for official verification.

“The accused is a supplier who purchases the notes and then circulates them,” said the source.

Sources revealed it takes ₹35 to ₹40 to prepare a single FICN note, which the accused would to purchase for ₹56. The agency is investigating if there are more people involved in the case.