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Fake Rs 20 Coins Worth Rs 70 Crore Circulated in Market, Gang Busted in UP
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In Short: Saharanpur Police arrested five members of an alleged counterfeit coin syndicate that manufactured and circulated fake Rs 20 coins worth over Rs 70 crore.
Police in Uttar Pradesh have arrested five members of an alleged counterfeit coin syndicate that manufactured and circulated fake Rs 20 coins worth more than Rs 70 crore, according to reports. The gang, which operated across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar, claimed to produce 10,000 to 12,000 counterfeit coins daily using machines.
Superintendent of Police Vyom Bindal said the gang had earlier operated a counterfeit coin manufacturing unit in Haryana and was planning to shift its operations to Saharanpur. The accused claimed each counterfeit coin cost around Rs 5 to Rs 6 to manufacture, after which the gang supplied the coins to agents for Rs 12 to Rs 15 apiece.
The police recovered 6,400 counterfeit Rs 20 coins, with a face value of Rs 1.28 lakh, semi-finished coins estimated to be worth around Rs 5 lakh, and six coin-making machines. The investigation is focused on determining how long the gang had been operating and how many consignments of counterfeit coins it had circulated in the market.
The arrests come days after counterfeit currency worth Rs 17.29 crore was recovered from the currency chest of a nationalised bank in the district. Police are investigating where the machines were purchased and where the gang had planned to establish the unit in Saharanpur.
What's still developing
- “It claimed to have the capacity to produce 10,000 to 12,000 counterfeit coins a day using the machines. These coins were then circulated through liquor shops, toll plazas and grocery stores on a commission basis, with liquor shops reportedly being the gang’s primary market,” said Saharanpur SSP Abhinandan.
Sources
- The Indian Expresslink