Fake currency flowing to Kochi from Gulf

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The circulation of counterfeit currency notes is on the rise in Kochi again as the police suspect that a huge amount of such notes must have been flowing in from the Gulf, especially Kuwait.

Doubts were removed on Thursday after an Iranian was held in the city with 32 fake notes of a denomination of Rs 500 each.

He has told the police that he got the fake notes from a money exchange agency in Kuwait, before he came to India.

Abdul Majeed Abu Najli, the general manager of a Kuwait-based web solution company in Cherthala Infopark, is an innocent possessor of fake notes, according to the initial interrogations of the police. However, the police are set to trace more details about the source of notes.

Najli was taken into custody for attempting to make a transaction by giving counterfeit notes to Dreams Hotel near Vyttila in Kochi on Wednesday.

He was taken into custody on the basis of information given by the hotel authorities.
According to the police, Abdul Majeed gave six notes of `500 each to the hotel receptionist as his room rent.

When the hotel found that the notes were counterfeit, officials lodged a complaint before the Kadavanthara police.

When quizzed the Iranian revealed that he had received these notes while exchanging money at the Kuwait airport and he knew nothing about this.

He was remanded into judicial custody on Thursday and has now been taken to the Kakkanad sub jail.

The court has ordered that his lawyer be present on Friday and that he would be transferred back to the police for further interrogation.

Kadavanthara sub inspector Anil George said that they have sought a reply from the Kuwait-based money exchange agency, which is awaited.