Police in Hyderabad have busted a counterfeit currency racket and seized fake ₹500 notes with a face value of about ₹6.78 crore. The Future City Commissionerate and the Shadnagar Special Operations Team carried out the operation. Officials arrested four men, while three others are absconding.
The action began on November 1. Acting on a tip-off, police teams stopped a car at Abdullapurmet, near Ramoji Film City on NH-65. They seized fake notes worth ₹8 lakh, fake police identity cards, an imitation pistol, walkie-talkie sets, mobile phones and the vehicle.
The probe led officers to a rented house in Kuntloor, where the gang ran its printing unit. Police recovered 134 bundles of fake ₹500 notes, worth about ₹6.7 crore. They also seized printers, a laptop, a lamination machine, a cutting machine and other materials used to make the notes.
According to police, the main accused scanned genuine notes and edited the images using software, including Photoshop. He then printed the counterfeit notes. He learned the method from YouTube videos and social media content.
The gang first failed to circulate the fake notes in the normal way. It then changed its tactic, police said. Members first built trust with buyers by showing genuine currency. They later arrived in vehicles with fake number plates, posing as police officers with fake IDs, walkie-talkies and a dummy pistol. They threatened the buyers, looted their real money and fled.
The arrested men are Madupoju Karnakar, Chinnolla Manikya Reddy, Cherukupelly Rathnakar Reddy and Karanam Ajay Kumar. The investigation is continuing under the supervision of Future City Police Commissioner Dr. Tarun Joshi, and police are tracing the three absconding suspects.
