Rab busts fake note factory in Dhaka

The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday said it arrested two members including the kingpin of a currency counterfeiter racket and busted their secret factory where they produced fake Indian bank notes.

A team of Rab-3 in a drive at a house in South Keraniganj area in the capital arrested Liakot Ali, 35, the alleged kingpin of the racket. Later, based on information gleaned from Liakot, the Rab arrested his cohort Jahangir Alam, 40, from Khilgaon in the capital.

Lt Col Emranul Hasan, commanding officer (CO) of Rab-3, disclosed this during a press briefing at Rab media centre in the capital's Karwan Bazar yesterday.

The racket mostly produced 2,000 and 500 denominations of Indian rupees that were issued in India only a year ago, the Rab CO said, adding that counterfeit currency worth Rs 10 lakh were seized from the arrestees.

“The racket used to supply fake notes to brokers who would sell the currency to money exchange outlets in the capital and also in the bordering areas of the country.”

The Rab's drive came only a week after a joint taskforce meeting between Bangladesh and India at the police headquarters in Dhaka. In the meeting, both the sides pledged to take effective measures against currency counterfeiters.

“Liakot has been involved in money counterfeiting business for the last 15 years. He used to do this under the supervision of one Sagir Master in Mirpur area. But in the last 10 years he developed his own syndicate and was producing fake notes in his own house,” the Rab official claimed.

During the raid Rab also seized a laptop, six skin dices, two dice plates, two scanners, four printers, seven bundles of security threads, four cutter machines, and other equipment and materials to produce counterfeit Indian currency, he added.