THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two persons were arrested from Venjaramoodu in the district on Tuesday on charges of attempting to circulate counterfeit currency notes, following which alarming facts have been revealed. The statements of the arrested, Vimal Raj and Joy of Keezhayikonam, near Attingal, reveal that fake currency note gangs are active in every district of the State.
According to the police, the two were arrested following a tip-off received by the police on Tuesday itself. Fake currency notes of over ` 10,000 were recovered from them. They were arrested by a police team working under the direction of Attingal DySP Rajendran.
The police said that both the men had given statements that they had been involved in the circulation of fake notes for the past six months. They had received the notes from another gang based in Kottayam which is also learnt to have landed in the custody of the police there. Sources in the City Police confirmed that the same gang had supplied printing equipment to Aryanad Syam, considered to be the kingpin of counterfeit currency gangs in the city and who is wanted by the City Police.
The notes recovered from those arrested on Tuesday were of good quality, which makes them hard to distinguish when mixed with real currency notes.
The police, meanwhile, have expanded their investigation to other districts of the State also following the statements of the accused. They are also probing whether the accused were linked with Syam, whose vehicles containing fake notes and printers were seized by the City Police last Friday.
However, the City Police are still groping in the dark over the whereabouts of Syam. They have intensified their search for him, as the case would be transferred to the Counterfeit Currency Wing of the Crime Branch within a few days.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com