Fake notes worth Tk 15cr circulating a month!

Some 10-15 fake currency rackets are producing and circulating counterfeit notes with a face value of upto Tk 15 crore across the country every month, say detectives.

The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) gleaned the information from three members of a ring who were arrested from the capital’s Tejgaon area on Wednesday.

The arrestees are Mojibur Rahman, 35, Shakil Rahman alias Abdur Rahman, 25, and Rasel Uddin alias Rasel Sardar, 34.

Talking to reporters at his office on Thursday, DMP Additional Commissioner (DB) Harun-Or-Rashid said Tk 6 lakh in fake currency was seized from Shakil and Rasel during the arrest.

During primarily interrogation, the trio said Mamun, 24, was making fake notes in a factory at a house in Degerchala in Gachaa of Gazipur.

Later, police conducted a raid on the house and busted the fake note-producing factory. During the drive, fake notes with a face value of more than Tk 1 crore and some other things were recovered.

A case was filed against the arrestees and fugitive Mamun with Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station.

Harun said the gang members had been making fake notes for the last 12 years. 

Tk 1 lakh in fake notes was being sold to agents, who were mainly circulating the currency across the country, at Tk 10,000-15,000, he said, adding that the racket made the fake currency ahead of Durga Puja.

The officer said there are many fake currency rackets across the country. “We’ll bring all the members to book,” he said.

Madhusudan Das, assistant commissioner (DB Lalbagh Division), said that during interrogation, Mojibur said there were 10-15 fake currency factories across the country.

Each factory was producing counterfeit notes worth Tk 50 lakh to over 1 crore every month, he said.

After making the fake notes, they were spreading those to different parts of the country through their agents, the DB officer said.

Earlier on July 27, DB Uttara Division arrested the ringleader of a fake currency gang from the capital’s Mohammadpur area with counterfeit notes worth Tk 16 lakh.

The arrestee is Humayun Kabir, 48, who is a former member of Bangladesh Police.

DB chief Harun then said the gang used to deposit counterfeit notes in different banks with the connivance of some dishonest bankers.