Kerala   

Probe into fake note seizure

LAW &ORDER Law-enforcing agencies launch a crackdown on fake currency rackets, writes Biju Govind

The seizure of currency notes of Rs.20 lakh from a passenger who arrived at the Karipur airport from Dubai last week has raised concern.

Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), acting on a tip off, intercepted the taxi in which the passenger, Khader Abdul Majeed, hailing from Kasaragod, was travelling and recovered the counterfeit notes. The accused has been remanded to judicial custody till May 12.

The officials said the fake currency notes suspected to be printed in Pakistan were in the denomination of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500. The currency was concealed in a music system. This is the first time that counterfeit notes smuggled in from abroad have been seized from an airport in the State, they said.

The DRI officials said the seizure indicated that counterfeit notes printed abroad were in circulation in the country.

Currency totalling Rs.2 crore was seized from different airports, including Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, in the past six months, they said.

The seizure of fake currency comes at a time when there are allegations that the international airport in north Kerala is fast emerging as a destination for anti-national activities.

The DRI is also investigating whether the circulation of fake currency is linked to the massive property deals in the State. Officials suspect that the skyrocketing prices of land may be on account of the impact of the widespread distribution of fake currency in the State.

Suspicions have been raised that terrorist outfits are using fake currency to buy property at over-valued rates.

The State police suspect that a hoax call on Tuesday that a bomb was planted on a Dubai-Kerala flight could be linked to the fake currency racket. All three international flights were put on red alert for a couple of days after the call was received at the Mangalore police station. The investigating agencies have intensified their probe into these incidents.

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