Tura : Two persons were arrested today in West Garo Hills district in connection with a fake currency racket and counterfeit notes of face value of Rs 1.32 lakh seized, police said.
The arrests were made based on reports of fake currency being circulated by some unscrupulous criminals amongst villagers as payments for various trades, the police said.
“We have arrested two of the main men behind the entire operation and search is currently on for the rest of the gang,” district police chief M G R Kumar said.
He said the group of criminals were going into villages and buying betel nuts and other products and making payments late in the evenings in mostly dark places.
“As villagers were unable to check the authenticity of the notes due to the darkness and their high quality, they were getting away with the entire operation,” Kumar said.
“We believe the gang has international links and has been circulating fake Indian currencies for some time through the Mankachar route from Bangladesh. The notes are very difficult to discern as they have most security features including high security thread, 3D raised elevation for visibly disabled people. They used crowded market days to push through the FICN into the monetary state,” the SP said.
The two arrested have been identified as Abdul Kalam from Hazirhat from Assam and Salseng Sangma from Tura, the police said.
—PTI