VIJAYAWADA: Krishna district police busted a counterfeit currency racket and arrested four persons for printing and circulating fake currency notes in the district on Wednesday.
Police seized counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 6.02 lakh and equipment used for printing fake notes from the accused.
Krishna District SP Vasana Vidyasagar Naidu said the case came to light on the evening of February 2, when two persons purchased liquor at the Hepsi Wine Shop in Sangamudi village of Kruthivennu mandal using two fake Rs 500 notes. After verification, cashier Koka Kumaraswamy identified the notes as counterfeit and immediately lodged a complaint.
Based on the complaint, Kruthivennu police registered a case and formed special teams. Machilipatnam Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) CH Raja, Pedana Circle Inspector Nagendra Prasad, and Kruthivennu Sub-Inspector Paidibabu supervised the operation.
With the help of CCTV camera footage, police identified the accused and arrested Thomandra Ranjith Singh, Brahma Uma Shankar, and Arjampudi Dileep from a house at Kokavanipalem village in Pendurthi mandal on Tuesday.
Machilipatnam Police arrested another accused, Pasam Rajasekhar, on Wednesday near the Seetanapalli Anjaneya Swamy temple.
During the investigation, police found that prime accused Ranjith Singh, along with Uma Shankar, had rented a house in Kokavanipalem and printed fake currency notes.
They allegedly supplied fake notes worth Rs 1 lakh for Rs 30,000 to Dileep, who, along with Rajasekhar, circulated them.
As part of the racket, the accused used two fake Rs 500 notes to purchase liquor on February 2, which led to their detection.
“Police seized counterfeit currency notes worth Rs 6,02,400, including 5,604 notes of Rs 100 denomination and 84 notes of Rs 500 denomination, Rs 6,000 in genuine cash, printing equipment, a Hyundai Santro car bearing registration number AP05 AQ 2728, and three mobile phones,” the SP said.