HYDERABAD: In a joint operation, East Zone Task Force sleuths and Narayanaguda police, on Monday, arrested four persons near Shanthi Theatre for possessing demonetised Indian currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations and attempting to exchange them illegally for valid notes for a 30% commission.
Police seized demonetised currency with a face value of Rs 1.92 crore, four mobile phones, and a currency counting machine. The accused were identified as Mulla Abbas Ali alias MA Ali (46) from Bengaluru, Mannelli Raj Kumar (46) from Banjara Hills, Tangella Krishna Mohan (43) from Karimnagar, and Yada Jaya Kavitha Gupta (47) from Musheerabad.
According to officials, the prime accused, Abbas, had earlier been arrested in 2021 by Bengaluru police for a similar offence. However, he continued procuring demonetised notes from one Aziz of Kerala, who is absconding.
In August, Abbas, along with associates, shifted operations to Hyderabad, where he teamed up with Raj and Kavitha. The group attempted to find clients willing to exchange Rs 1.92 crore in old notes, offering it at Rs 30 lakh for every Rs 1 crore.