Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested two alleged members of a counterfeit currency racket with fake Indian currencies worth Rs 7.35 crore conducting simultaneous drives in the capital’s Khilkhet and Demra on Friday.
The arrested people were identified as Fatema Akhter Opi and Sheikh Md. Abu Taleb.
Based on secret information, a special team of Khilkhet police station under the Gulshan division conducted the simultaneous drives in Khilkhet and Demra police station areas and arrested the duo and recovered the fake Indian currencies.
Briefing reporters at DMP Media Center on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Gulshan crime division Md Asaduzzaman said Khilkhet police had information that a woman was standing on a paved road in front of the main gate of Banrupa residential area under the Khilkhet police station with a huge quantity of counterfeit Indian rupees.
Based on the information, a special team of the Khilkhet thana police conducted a drive and arrested Fatema Akhter Opi and recovered 50,000 counterfeit Indian rupees from her possession. On the basis of her statement, the police team conducted another drive at her Panditpara residence under Dakkhin Khan police station and recovered 7 crore 34 lakh 50 thousand fake Indian rupees, he said.
Sheikh Mohammad Abu Taleb, another member of the fraud ring, was later arrested from Sarulia area of Demra Police Station on the basis of the information provided by arrested Opi, the DC (Gulshan division) said.
He further said that the arrested Fatema Akhtar Opi was an active member of the international Indian counterfeit money smuggling syndicate. For a long time, she used to collect Indian counterfeit currency from Pakistan through international networks and smuggle it to India.
Arrested Taleb handed over the recovered Indian counterfeit currency to another arrested Fatema Akhter Opi on November 23. Among the 500 sacks of marble imported from Pakistan through Pakistani nationals Sultan and Shafi, the arrested Taleb skillfully smuggled the counterfeit Indian currency to Bangladesh through Sri Lanka. Ninety five fake currency laden sacks, out of 500 sacks, were marked with pink thread, the DC Gulshan division said.
A case was filed at Khilkhet police station in connection with the incident.
Source: United News of Bangladesh