Thane resident Javed Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, who flew in to Mumbai from Dubai on Sunday was caught with very high quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) worth Rs 23.86 lacs. These fake currencies were in 2000 denomination. During interrogation he revealed that the fake currencies were routed to India from Pakistan via Dubai.
As per reports 36 year old Javed is a resident of Kalwa, Thane. The Crime Branch sleuths were tipped off by the Central Intelligence agency about the possible smuggling of FICN printed in Pakistan into Mumbai via Dubai as a transit point.
During interrogation, the accused accepted that he procured the consignment from a Pakistani in Dubai. The notes were for circulating in Mumbai. “During questioning, he said that he went to Dubai just five days ago, we don’t believe this” Joint Commissioner of Police Santosh Rastogi said.
“An average person will not be able to identify the fake notes. They look genuine. Shaikh walked away at the airport’s security check. He was caught at the bus stop outside international airport”, added JCP Santosh Rastogi. As per reports, the fake currencies checked out on 7 out of 9 security features. Except for optically variable ink ( ink that changes colour while changing angles) and ‘see-through register'(hidden features that are seen only if the note is held against the light) these notes had all other security features.
“The counterfeit currency was stuffed in one of his bags. It took us over an hour to locate it. We identified him because of his white jeans. It was around 9:30 am. He was waiting for a BEST Bus… The notes were scattered into a cushion which was stuffed into a gap between the bag’s wall and cloth liner”, Rastogi added.
He claimed that Shaikh was carrying the notes in a scattered format that made it difficult for machines to detect. The machines can only detect notes who are set as bundles, the edges of the bundles get detected. Shaikh has been booked under IPC sections for common intention, criminal conspiracy, and counterfeiting.