7 arrested for smuggling counterfeit currency
Machines, equipment, chemicals and a large amount of other material used to print fake currency also seized
A police official displays fake currency notes next to men arrested during a raid on a factory making counterfeit money in Lahore on February 25, 2016. PHOTO: AFP
LAHORE:
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) on Thursday arrested seven people for manufacturing counterfeit currency and trading in it.
The police also recovered a cache of local and foreign currency – including Indian rupee, dirham, riyal, euro, – and a printing machine, paper and a cutter.
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CIA SP Umer Virk said some members of the busted gang members were in the UAE, Afghanistan and the FATA. He said police were trying to arrest the remaining members of the group.
Those arrested on Thursday were identified as Umer Sohail, Shahzad Khan, Ali Raza, Muhammad Anwar, Muhammad Zaigham, Sher Baaz Khan and Rasheed.
Umer Sohail, Shahzad Khan and Ali Raza were arrested from near Data Darbar and the other suspects from Bund Road. Police said that Muhammad Zaigham, the ring-leader, had been declared a proclaimed offender by the FIA.
The suspects had set up a printing press at a house in Mughal Park near Bund Road.
Police said the suspects would transport the counterfeit currency to Afghanistan from where they would take it to the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, their accomplices would deposit the currency in an account using ATM machines, and later withdraw it from some other account.
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Police said authorities in the UAE had intercepted the network when one of the suspects tried to deposit the money in an ATM. The UAE authorities had then shared the information with Lahore police that resulted in the arrest of the seven men.
Shahzad Khan, one of the suspects, told The Express Tribune that he was a truck driver. “My job was to transport paper to various places,” he said. He said that he lived in Peshawar and had come to Lahore to visit a doctor when police arrested him from a hotel.
Umer Sohail said that he ran a computer shop in Peshawar. He said he was a friend of Shahzad Khan. He said he was escorting Shahzad Khan to Lahore for his check-up.
Asked whether the counterfeit currency was used to fund terrorism, Umer Virk said investigation in this regard was underway. “What we do know so far is that they would sell the notes at duty-free shops,” the SP said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2016.
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) on Thursday arrested seven people for manufacturing counterfeit currency and trading in it.
The police also recovered a cache of local and foreign currency – including Indian rupee, dirham, riyal, euro, – and a printing machine, paper and a cutter.
FIA arrests suspect smuggling Rs130m from Lahore airport
CIA SP Umer Virk said some members of the busted gang members were in the UAE, Afghanistan and the FATA. He said police were trying to arrest the remaining members of the group.
Those arrested on Thursday were identified as Umer Sohail, Shahzad Khan, Ali Raza, Muhammad Anwar, Muhammad Zaigham, Sher Baaz Khan and Rasheed.
Umer Sohail, Shahzad Khan and Ali Raza were arrested from near Data Darbar and the other suspects from Bund Road. Police said that Muhammad Zaigham, the ring-leader, had been declared a proclaimed offender by the FIA.
The suspects had set up a printing press at a house in Mughal Park near Bund Road.
Police said the suspects would transport the counterfeit currency to Afghanistan from where they would take it to the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, their accomplices would deposit the currency in an account using ATM machines, and later withdraw it from some other account.
PIA steward jailed for five years over smuggling fake passports in underwear
Police said authorities in the UAE had intercepted the network when one of the suspects tried to deposit the money in an ATM. The UAE authorities had then shared the information with Lahore police that resulted in the arrest of the seven men.
Shahzad Khan, one of the suspects, told The Express Tribune that he was a truck driver. “My job was to transport paper to various places,” he said. He said that he lived in Peshawar and had come to Lahore to visit a doctor when police arrested him from a hotel.
Umer Sohail said that he ran a computer shop in Peshawar. He said he was a friend of Shahzad Khan. He said he was escorting Shahzad Khan to Lahore for his check-up.
Asked whether the counterfeit currency was used to fund terrorism, Umer Virk said investigation in this regard was underway. “What we do know so far is that they would sell the notes at duty-free shops,” the SP said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2016.