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Continuing the drive against modules involved in the import of security paper and printing Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) conducted simultaneous searches at 11 different places across Maharashtra, Haryana, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Bihar yesterday and busted seven (7) additional modules involved in the printing of FICN.
The searches were carried out on February 20, 2025, the finance ministry said in a statement Friday. Earlier on February 8, 2025, the DRI arrested two persons found to be the actual importers of high-quality paper with embedded security thread having inscriptions of 'RBI' and 'Bharat' ('security paper') in Ghazipur District, Uttar Pradesh, and Bengaluru, Karnataka. The next day, on February 9, the DRI busted two facilities (Thane, Maharashtra, and Bhiwani District Haryana) printing FICN using imported security papers. The finance ministry said three persons were arrested by jurisdictional police authorities based on DRI's complaint. In the present case, in Vikhroli West, Mumbai, DRI identified and located the importer. After a thorough search in a densely populated locality, a sophisticated facility for printing and finishing Fake Indian Currency Notes was unearthed, and fake currency of denominations of Rs 50 and Rs 100, several machinery or tools were seized. The seized items include laptops, printers, pen drives, security paper, A-4-sized papers, and butter paper with the watermark of Mahatma Gandhi, among others. "On the basis of the complaint filed by DRI officers, the person was arrested, and the jurisdictional police authorities seized all the apparatus and tools under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for further investigation," the Ministry of Finance said. In Sangamner district and Kolhapur district, the DRI unearthed a similar set-up with computers and printers, which were being used to print fake Indian Currency Notes. The finance ministry said that the two accused were arrested at both places based on the complaint filed by DRI officers, and the contraband was seized by the jurisdictional police authorities under BNS for further investigation. The questioning of the accused in the Kolhapur module led to the busting of another module with printing set up in Belgaum, by Kolhapur police, who arrested three more persons in the case. In three other locations (West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, Khagaria District in Bihar and Rohtak in Haryana), the importers of the security paper were traced. "Incriminating evidence such as restricted security paper and printer at West Godavari; laptops, printer and restricted security paper at Khagaria district were also recovered. The three accused have been arrested by jurisdictional police based on a complaint by DRI officials, and the matter has been handed over for further investigation under BNS," the statement added. (ANI)
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