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In the single largest seizure of fake currency by the Bombay police so far, Crime Branch sleuths on Tuesday busted a major racket involving notes of Rs 500 denomination and seized fake notes worth Rs 15 million.
Four men have been arrested in this connection.
The racket, which seems to have been operational for months now, was exposed when the Crime Branch received a tip-off that some contraband, originating from Dubai, was likely to arrive in Bombay through air cargo concealed in a water cooler.
In a search and seizure operation, a Crime Branch team came across the water cooler at the Sahar Cargo Complex. However, even they were shocked when a huge amount of Indian currency emerged from the fake crevices made in the cooler.
The notes seemed genuine and, initially, the cops presumed that they had stumbled across a racket in smuggling currency notes of Rs 500 denomination.
However, a bank teller who examined the notes declared, "This is the best copy of a Rs 500 note that was ever made."
Unlike other Rs 500 notes, which are easily distinguishable after a close look, these cannot be identified unless seen through a currency detector. There are few features to distinguish them from the real ones.
The quality of paper was the same as that used in the genuine notes, pointed out the bank teller.
The paper seemed to have been imported from a West European country. The Reserve Bank of India imports paper from Denmark and Norway.
Crime Branch suspects Dubai-based members of the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate Aftab Batki and Anis Ibrahim to be behind the racket.
They suspect Batki had sent such consignments in the past too.
"It is yet to be established whether only the mafia is involved or even Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence has a role in this in the racket,'' said a Crime Branch officer.
What makes the sleuths suspect the ISI's hand in the affair is the quality of the notes. They seemed to have been printed in a government mint, possibly in Pakistan.
The arrested persons had confessed that similar consignments had been despatched to Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Madras.
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