KOCHI: The luxurious house at Painkutty near Elanji where a counterfeit banknote racket was busted last month was the centre of fake-note supply to Tamil Nadu, said a police source. The gang transported fake notes twice during the past six months but the exact face value of the notes printed by the racket is yet to be ascertained. It is learnt the arrest happened at a time the gang was planning to relocate.
Sources privy to the investigation said Renukumar, an accused arrested recently, searched similar houses in Wayanad and Pathanamthitta districts too for the operation after winding up the printing at Painkutty.
“To discuss the shifting, Renukumar arrived at the Painkutty house a day before the gang was busted,”said an officer. The Crime Branch team probing the case has received information that the arrested got financial assistance from a racket in Tamil Nadu for printing fake notes. Thankamuthu, an accused in the case, had reportedly struck a deal with the racket. Given the financial support, the gang bought the equipment required for printing and rented the house — Renukumar, 54, of Kottayam — paying an advance of Rs 50,000. So far, eight persons have been arrested in the case.
On July 27, a joint operation carried out by the police and the anti-terrorist squad busted the racket and seized fake notes of Rs 500 amounting to a face value of Rs 7.57 lakh. Madhusoodhanan, 48, of Pathanamthitta; Stephen, 33, Anand, 24, and Thankamuthu, 60, all from Vandiperiyar in Idukki; Faisal, 34, of Kottayam; Jibi, 36, of Peechi, Thrissur; and Sunilkumar, 40, of Nedumkandam in Idukki were arrested in connection with the incident.
The police seized fake notes, five printers, a machine each for photocopying, screen printing and currency counting, and ink and papers used by the gang to print the fake notes. Madhusoodhanan took the house on rent convincing the owner, Sunny, a resident of Painkutty, that they were involved in television serial production for a Malayalam TV channel. The gang stayed there for nine months. As the house is located in a remote area, people did not have a clue about the gang’s activities or their whereabouts. According to the police, the fake currency notes seem to have been circulated outside the district and, largely, outside the state.
JOINT OPERATION BUSTS RACKET IN JULY
On July 27, a joint operation carried out by the police and the anti-terrorist squad busted the racket and seized fake notes of Rs 500 amounting to a face value of Rs 7.57 lakh.