2 held for smmuggling high-quality fake currency notes into UP | Lucknow News

Lucknow: The UP ATS has arrested two men allegedly involved in the smuggling and circulation of high-quality counterfeit Indian currency notes. ATS recovered fake Rs 500 notes worth Rs 1 lakh from them.The arrests were made in Lucknow on Friday following intelligence inputs about a suspected network bringing counterfeit Indian currency into Uttar Pradesh through the India-Bangladesh border in Malda, West Bengal, and circulating it in different districts of the state.The arrested suspects have been identified as Azim Khan and Raja alias Sameerul, both residents of Ganjdundwara in UP’s Kasganj.ATS officers said the seized notes were examined in accordance with parameters followed by the Reserve Bank of India and appeared, at first glance, to be of high quality.The quality of the counterfeit notes has raised concerns among investigators about their possible circulation through an organised network rather than their use as isolated fake currency.The ATS sleuths said they had been receiving intelligence inputs indicating that certain individuals from Uttar Pradesh were procuring high-quality counterfeit Indian currency from the Malda region along the India-Bangladesh international border in West Bengal and transporting it into Uttar Pradesh for circulation.Investigators suspect that the network may have been operating across state and international-border routes to introduce counterfeit currency into the financial system.Investigators are now questioning the accused to establish the source of the fake currency, the route through which it allegedly entered the country and the individuals or groups involved in its transportation and distribution.The agency is also expected to examine whether the accused had previously circulated counterfeit notes in Uttar Pradesh or other parts of the country.The UP ATS has registered a case against the two accused at the ATS police station in Lucknow.Investigators are probing the broader network behind the alleged counterfeit currency operation, including its source, financiers, couriers and intended recipients.