Cops nab alleged Dawood man with fake currency

Police suspect that unlike the usual Bangladesh or Nepal route, this consignment was smuggled from Dubai

In a recent breakthrough, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) traced the supply of Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) to the city from Dubai. Besides, the D-company remains the main suspect in the crime.


Faking it: The consignment was smuggled from Dubai, concealed with
a permissible amount of original currency to hoodwink custom checks.
Representation pic

Following a tip-off, DRI officer Nanda Kumar, along with a team, nabbed Riyaz Ahmed Abdul Sattar, a native of Sirsi, from outside a hotel on MG Road on Friday. Police found fake Indian currency notes worth Rs 5 lakh in his possession.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Sattar is just a carrier, while bigger fish were backing him. An investigating officer said, "The accused was used to circulate the currency on a commission basis. Sattar claims that Haji Azeez, an NRI who is a native of Kerala but based in Dubai, gave the consignment to him informing him that the batch would be collected by a person on MG Road."

New route
Another team of officers has left for Kerala in search of the said Azeez. Officers also added that this bust was the first of its kind, wherein fake currency was procured from Dubai.

The usual route used to be through porous Indian borders like Malda district of Bangladesh-India border or from Nepal. But according to the accused, the consignment was smuggled from Dubai, concealed with a permissible amount of original currency to hoodwink custom checks.

The officer added, "After questioning the accused, we suspect the hand of D Company since several arrested smugglers using the Nepal and Bangladesh borders for activities, had Dawood links."

A case has been registered in Ashok Nagar police station and DRI officers are still questioning Sattar to ascertain how he was contacted and whether he has any local links. Besides, police are also on the lookout for the other accused, Azeez, who is suspected to have gone underground.