The Hindu : New Delhi News : ISI hand behind fake currency racket

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Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007
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New Delhi

ISI hand behind fake currency racket

Staff Reporter

Under Arrest: (L-R) Wasim, Mohammad Muslim and Nayeem who have been arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on charges of carrying fake currency in New Delhi.

New Delhi: The counterfeit currency note racket smashed by the Special Cell of the Delhi police with the arrest of three young men on Monday was being run allegedly by a man declared as a proclaimed offender in a case registered here way back in 1996. The alleged mastermind is presently operating from Pakistan at the behest of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) network, the police said on Tuesday.

In the first week of June, the Special Cell received inputs that Iqbal Kana was pushing huge amounts of fake notes into India from Pakistan. “The notes printed in Pakistan are being smuggled in through his conduits based there and in the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Alok Kumar.

Iqbal is a proclaimed offender in a case registered here at the Lodhi Road police station in which a Swiss national, Christoph Martin Zellweger, and an Iranian named Aziz Baltaji were arrested after 361 pistols, over 72 lakh live cartridges, besides Pakistan currency and U.S. dollars were seized from them in 1996. Iqbal managed to escape to Pakistan where he came into contact with ISI officials and at their instance allegedly began pushing fake notes into the country.

A team led by Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma developed the inputs about his activities and found that his close aide Jamil alias Wasim (21) and his accomplice Mohammad Muslim (23) would come to Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin area on Monday afternoon to receive a huge consignment from his cousin Nayeem (20). A trap was laid and the three were arrested.

During interrogation, Jamil purportedly disclosed to the police that in 2000 he came in contact with a Pakistan national, Shehbaz, an importer-exporter of garments, who encouraged him to send couriers to Pakistan. Jamil then came into contact with Shafiq, a supplier of fake notes from Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, in 2004. At Shafiq’s instance, he allegedly began circulating the notes in and around Hapur. In 2005, Shafiq shifted base to Kathmandu and introduced Jamil to Iqbal, a permanent resident of Muzaffarnagar in UP.

“Iqbal directed Jamil to send couriers to Pakistan for smuggling fake notes concealed in dinner sets, cardboards, cartons and other articles. Jamil then came to Delhi and with the help of Iqbal and Shafiq and began smuggling notes through the Indo-Nepal border,” said Mr. Kumar. Meanwhile, Shafiq died in Nepal.

Jamil allegedly roped in Shan Mohammad and Zulfikar as carriers, but Shan was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport here allegedly with fake notes worth Rs. 10 lakh earlier this year. Jamil then allegedly asked Iqbal to supply large amounts of fake notes to cover the loss.

Earlier this month, Jamil allegedly sent two women, Rashida and Mehrunisha, to Pakistan with a consignment of cosmetic items aboard the Thar Express. On their way back, the women brought along the thread rollers having notes worth Rs. 33 lakh and handed them over to Nayeem in Jodhpur on Sunday. But he, Jamil and Muslim were arrested the next day at Nizamuddin here.

At Jamil’s instance, the police are trying to identify the others who worked as couriers for him.

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