Flier arrested with fake notes worth ₹24 lakh

City crime branch officers arrested a 36-year-old man, who landed from Dubai on Sunday, at the international airport for allegedly possessing 1,193 fake Indian currency

City crime branch officers arrested a 36-year-old man, who landed from Dubai on Sunday, at the international airport for allegedly possessing 1,193 fake Indian currency notes worth ₹23.86 lakh – all in denominations of ₹2,000.

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“After interrogation, the accused, identified as Javed Shaikh, revealed that the fake notes were brought from Dubai, where it had reached from Pakistan. The man collected the currency from Dubai and was asked by his handler to deliver it in Mumbai. The notes are of high quality and all the security features of the genuine currency have been successfully copied into the notes. We will probe if the money trail is associated with any terror link,” said joint commissioner of police (crime branch) Santosh Rastogi.

According to the police, based on a tip-off from a central agency, officers from unit 8 of the crime branch laid a trap and nabbed Shaikh from a bus stop in the airport premises.

While conducting a search, the police found the notes wrapped in layers of cloths in four travel bags. He was brought to the unit office, and during inquiry confessed that he been to Dubai for a holiday, where he was handed over the fake currency to deliver in Mumbai, the police said.

“Prima facie, it appears that Shaikh is a part of a gang which smuggles counterfeit currency into India via Dubai. We have been inquiring about how long he has been involved in the racket and who was he going to deliver the notes to in Mumbai and who gave him the notes in Dubai,” said deputy commissioner of police Akbar Pathan.