Transnational nexus bringing in Phensedyl
A transnational currency forgery gang joined hands with drug traffickers, and together they smuggle Phensedyl from India using fake Indian rupees printed in Pakistan.
Law enforcers have so far learned about the involvement of 35 people, including two Pakistani nationals, in the syndicate. Eight of them are already behind bars.
Talking about the syndicate's modus operandi, the law enforcers said after the fake notes are printed in Pakistan, they are stacked inside marble stone-laden containers, which arrive at the Chattogram port by sea via Sri Lanka. The notes are then stolen from the containers and sent to different border areas using courier services after hiding them inside bags of clothes, shampoos or soaps.
Later, the notes change hands through the border fences and make their way into India, where the liquid drug is bought by defrauding other smugglers with the fake notes.
The Detective Branch of police claimed to have unearthed the information following three months of investigation and analysing the confessional statements of five arrested members of the syndicate.
Eight members of the gang, including a fake rupee notes dealer, were arrested between November 27 and February 7. Fake notes of 7.45 crore rupees have also been seized from their possession, said DB officials.
In a recent drive, fake notes of 15 lakh rupees and eight cell phones were recovered on February 7.
"We have also found that the syndicate uses the fake notes to buy things like stolen phones and marijuana. Money earned through the illegal business is transferred to different bank accounts. Money is also sent to the syndicate members in Pakistan through illegal hundi," Mashiur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Gulshan division) of DB police, told The Daily Star.
Investigators said a Bangladeshi man named Fazlur Rahman receives the money in Pakistan on behalf of two Pakistani nationals named Shafi and Sultan, who oversee the printing.
In the guise of cloth traders in Old Dhaka, Fazlur's two brothers Saidur Rahman and Nomanur Rahman look after the transactions here, said one of the investigators.
Both Saidur and Nomanur have been arrested.
The Daily Star has seen copies of bank statements, which shows Saidur received Tk 2.62 crore in his two accounts from January 2021 to January 2022. Most of the money was wired from Chapainawabganj border areas.
Law enforcers confirmed the authenticity of the documents.
The eight arrestees include Fatema Akter Opy and Sheik Md Abu Taleb. Both are allegedly involved in smuggling the fake notes from Pakistan.
DB officials said Opy's husband Danesh, a Pakistani national, got her involved in the racket. Danesh had come to Bangladesh in early 2008 and married Opy. After he had a heart attack, he could no longer work for the racket, so he handed the responsibility to Opy.
Taleb is also an importer and has allegedly been in the fake note trade since 2001.
He was in Pakistan between 1995 and 2000 and had good relations with Fazlur, according to officials involved in the investigation.
DB DC Mashiur said the smugglers use Bangladesh as a transit route due to its geographical position. Initially, fake notes' consignments used to come in people's luggage, but it stopped after vigilance was stepped up, he said, adding that the smugglers switched to the sea route recently.
"Once the fake notes reach the Chattogram port, they are smuggled into India using different border points in Chapainawabganj, Benapole, Sunamganj, Rangpur and Rajshahi," he added.
CODE WORDS
Audio clips of conversations between syndicate members show that they use code words for communication. They use code words like "100 deposited" or "500 deposited". Here 100 means one lakh, say DB officials.
The criminals shared screenshots of fake 10-rupee notes among each other. Besides, the carriers need to tell the dealers serial numbers of the fake notes for taking them along, according to the conversations and investigators.
FAMILY 'BUSINESS'
Detectives say they found the involvement of two families in leading the fake notes racket for decades.
Fazlur Rahman, who is from Munshiganj, dragged his two brothers into the illegal business.
The other family is of one Aman Ullah, who is from Chapainawabganj. He is a driver working at the Department of Narcotics Control. He allegedly got involved in the racket in 2008. Recently, he gave confessional statements before a court, investigators said.
Aman had met Fazlur and his brothers in 2005. Later in 2008, he married one Kajal Rekha in Chapainawabganj and involved her family members in the smuggling.
Detectives claimed to have found the involvement of Kajal's brother Keramat, sister Sharmin Doyel, uncle Aynal, cousin Nadim and brother-in-law Sona Mia in the crime.
Kajal has been arrested, but the others are on the run, said DB officials, adding that they also arrested one hundi trader named Kamal Farazi alias Shahjahan.
Md Kamruzzaman, additional deputy commissioner of DB police, said, "We are looking into all the details and trying to arrest all members of the syndicate."
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