Bengaluru police seize fake currency notes worth over Rs 1 crore, two Nigerians on the run

© Provided by The Indian Express

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru city police Wednesday busted a counterfeit currency racket comprising African nationals that printed Indian and US currency notes worth Rs 1.10 crore. These include 10,033 Indian bank notes of Rs 500 denominations and 708 currency notes of 100 US dollars, police said.

According to Karnataka Police, two Nigerians in the racket lured people into money doubling, black bill unmasking, original-fake currency swapping and American dollar investment assurance schemes through social media ads. The police officials who got a tip off from a victim kept a track of one of the African national for nearly 10 days and eventually raided his house at Rajanna Layout in Bengaluru’s Horamavu on Tuesday.

During the raid, the police seized the counterfeit currency notes and chemicals from the house, but the African nationals were at large. "We opened the door with a spare key provided by the landlord, Venkateshapathi. We found electronic drying machines, many bottles of chemicals used to prepare fake currency, 10,033 fake currency notes with the face value of Rs 500 and 708 US currency notes of $100 denomination," said a police officer.

Explaining their modus operandi, the officer said, “The gang sends bulk messages to random people and made offers to earn money from their homes. When people contacted them, they explained about money doubling, currency swapping and black bill unmasking techniques. The gang would approach a place where they offered to give Rs 20 lakh fake currency in exchange of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh genuine notes. Also, once they make a deal and receive payment, they would ask customers to leave the place.”

According to the official sources, the police suspect the involvement of a larger gang who must have also sold chemicals to their customers and taught them to make fake currency notes.

The probe revealed that the two Nigerians rented a house on December 5 and were yet to submit their documents with the landlord.