Counterfeit notes with a face value of ₹7.90 crore were seized from a car in Odisha’s Koraput district on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border and three persons arrested on Monday.
“During regular vehicle checking at the Sunki post on our border, we found four trolley bags from a hatchback car bearing Chhattisgarh number. We found counterfeit notes in ₹500 denomination in them,” Koraput Superintendent of Police (SP) Varun Guntupalli said at a press conference in Koraput on Tuesday.
“Upon interrogation, three persons confessed that they got the fake notes prepared by a colour copy-maker in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. They were on their way to deliver the consignment to someone in Visakhapatnam,” he said.
There were 1580 bundles of ₹500 fake notes and each bundle comprised 100 notes. The police estimated that the fake currency had a face value of ₹7.90 crore. Five mobile phones and a cash of ₹35,000 were also confiscated from the arrested persons.
“We have intensified the investigation. We are hopeful of cracking the entire network involved in circulation of counterfeit notes,” said the SP.
Crossed several checkposts
The accused had crossed several checkposts and police stations as they travelled from Raipur. Sunki was the lost checking post at the Odisha border. Police personnel were suspecting that they were carrying cannabis. They stumbled upon the fake notes accidentally.
Last November, the Sunabeda police seized fake notes with a face value of ₹3,27,600 from a man in Semiliguda. It was meant for circulation among the gullible tribal population of the district.
