Bhubaneswar/Berhampur: In a major breakthrough, the Commissionerate Police busted a fake note circulation racket and arrested five members from Bhubaneswar and Berhampur on Sunday night.
The arrested, identified as Rameshwar Maharana (43) (kingpin of the racket), K Ramesh (53) of Berhampur and Pranam Bhoi (19), Dilip Bhoi (23) and Sarat Sahu of Khurda district, would be forwarded to the court on Monday, police said.
Acting on a tip-off on the circulation of fake notes, a police team raided an area in Tamando and arrested two persons. Later, acting on the information by the two accused during interrogation, a Quick Action Team (QAT) of the Commissionerate Police raided a fake note printing unit in Berhampur at night and arrested two persons.
Police seized fake notes in Rs 2000, Rs 500, Rs 200 and Rs 50 denominations worth Rs 4.50 lakh from their possession. Besides, a colour printer, printer colours, sketch pens and markers were also seized from the printing unit.
According to police, the racket was using these fake notes in the illegal trading of narcotics and endangered wild animals. Apart from Bhubaneswar, the racket was active in other districts, especially the industrial towns and cities of the state.
Investigation is on to find out the amount of these fake notes circulated by the gang in the market.
