BARGARH: The Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch along with Bargarh police claimed to have busted a fake currency racket after seizing counterfeit currencies of over Rs 14 lakh and arresting two persons in this connection from Barpali on Thursday.
The accused were identified as Pattu Yadav (53) from Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Balaram Meher from Barpali here. Sources said the STF along with local police detected an illegal business of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) at Barpali.
A raid was conducted on Thursday. During search, the team seized counterfeit notes to the tune of Rs 14.29 lakh and other incriminating articles from the possession of the accused.
STF DIG Jai Narayan Pankaj said the duo was mostly circulating these currencies in western Odisha region. The accused from Uttar Pradesh, Pattu Yadav, is an expert in printing fake currencies and used to print and supply it to other nearby states. Further investigation is underway.