Fake notes come via Pak diplomatic bag
The National Investigation Agency and other outfits have established that the network running India’s biggest fake currency racket is being operated with the aid of officials at Pakistan’s high commission in Dhaka.
Classified reports accessed by this newspaper show high commission staff in Dhaka are using diplomatic bags to transport high-quality fake Indian currency from Karachi to Bangladesh.
Using both technical and human intelligence sources, the NIA has confirmed that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence was printing fine-quality fake Indian currency notes at a highsecurity press at Karachi’s Maler Cantonment. This is then airlifted to Bangladesh via diplomatic bags to bypass any inspection.
Indian intelligence even mounted surveillance on some airlines frequently used by the mission staff. Some consignments are routed through the Pakistani embassy in Kathmandu using similar a modus operandi.
Once in Bangladesh, the fake currency is smuggled into India through the porous Indo-Bangladesh border, with Malda in West Bengal being a major hub.
In a massive operation across 12 states, the NIA has arrested 13 persons and seized a huge quantity of fake currency. It is suspected the entire network is run by 30 people.
“The ISI is printing the fake Indian currency at four presses — in Karachi, Quetta, Lahore and Peshawar. But Maler Cantt is the most sophisticated, where currency notes are of very good quality with a proper security thread and optically variable ink,” a senior official said.
The sources confirmed Hyderabad is a key transit point for smuggling the fake currency into South India: four arrests were from that city.
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