IDUKKI: The police have arrested five more persons from Idukki and Tamil Nadu in the case related to the circulation and possession of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).
Counterfeit notes worth Rs 38.40 lakh were seized from the accused who were taken into custody on Sunday night and the early hours of Monday, Central Range IG P Vijayan told the media.
The arrested have been identified as Sunil Kumar alias Ramesh, 39, of Nedumkandam, Raveendran alias Kunjoonju, 57, of Puttadi, Shihabuddeen alias Faisu, 43, of Chavakkad, Krishnakumar, 44, hailing from Karunagappally and Anpu Selvam, 48, of Sreeram Nagar in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Investigators have seized fake currency worth Rs 79 lakh and arrested nine persons since the FICN case was registered against a couple from Idukki on May 5. Jojo Joseph, 30, of Thundiyil House, Nedumkandam, and his wife Anupama, 23, were arrested from Vandiperiyar and fake notes worth Rs 38,500 were seized from them. The police also recovered Rs 40.07 lakh from their residence in Ernakulam.
The investigation was progressing and the police arrested Selvam from Theni on Sunday night and seized counterfeit notes amounting to Rs 47,500. Based on the information received from him, the other accused were taken into custody from Bodimettu on Monday morning and as many as 7,458 fake notes of Rs 500 denomination were seized from them.
The accused will be produced before the court on Tuesday. Idukki district police chief K B Venugopal was also present during the press meet.