Two held for paying for livestock with fake currency

LAHORE:

Nishtar Colony police arrested two suspected members of a counterfeit currency network defrauding livestock traders and buyers.

The arrests were made after a local resident filed a complaint stating that he had received fake currency notes for goats sold to arrange his daughter's dowry. The fraud came to light when a shopkeeper identified the notes as counterfeit. Acting on the complaint, the police arrested the suspects Nadeem and Akram.

According to preliminary investigations, Nadeem had allegedly been involved in using counterfeit currency since 2013. Police sources claimed the network obtained fake currency from Dara Adam Khel, with consignments arriving in bundles, each containing counterfeit notes worth Rs500,000. Investigators said the suspect had confessed to receiving consignments every 15 days.

The gang allegedly circulated fake currency in livestock markets by purchasing sacrificial animals and later reselling them to convert the proceeds into legitimate cash.

The police recovered a goat allegedly purchased with fake currency and a vehicle used in the crime. Investigations into the case were under way.

Meanwhile, unidentified armed men stole 12 goats worth more than Rs1.5 million from cattle pen in Batapur.

According to an FIR, four men entered the livestock enclosure owned by Muhammad Usman and held workers at gunpoint before fleeing with four goats valued at about Rs380,000. In a second incident at the same place, unidentified thieves allegedly stole eight more goats worth Rs1.2 million. Cases have been registered on the complaint of the owner.