Customs officials yesterday arrested two Pakistani nationals and seized fake Indian currency amounting to Rs1.71 crore and 195 cartons of Esse, a Korean brand cigarette, from them at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka city.
Abu Zahir, 50, and Yeasmin, 18, residents of Karachi, reached Dhaka on tourist visas by a Pakistan Airlines flight about 2pm.
Director General of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) Mainul Khan said they were seen moving around suspiciously after landing at the airport, when customs officials approached them and checked their luggage they discovered the fake Indian currency and the cigarettes.
Earlier in the day, 413 cartons of cigarettes and huge amount of medicine worth around Tk50 lakh was abandoned and recovered at the airport. Customs officials said the contraband goods might have been at the Customs Hall after smuggling those from Dubai.
In the last few years, according to customs intelligence officials and other law enforcement agencies, around 60 Pakistani nationals had been arrested in possession of fake Indian currency amounting to around Rs200 crore.
Most arrestees were found to be linked to different militant organisations in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh –Jama’atul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
CIID Director General Mainul was asked whether they were trying to discover the duo's link to any militant organisation, he said the two would be handed over to police and sued for smuggling fake currencies and foreign cigarettes.
Assistant Commissioner (customs) Qamrul Hasan said: “Almost 90 percent of the currencies, which have so far been recovered from Pakistani nationals, are found to be fake.”
On April 3 of this year, Pakistani national Asimullah Khan, 40, was arrested with fake Rs8.8 million at the Dhaka airport.
Detective Branch of police arrested 12 militant leaders, including 4 Pakistani nationals, with fake Indian currencies worth Tk1.29 crore in March of last year.
Pakistani nationals Sabbir, Md Danish and his Bangladeshi wife Fatema were arrested with fake Rs10 lakh at Rampura on January 18, in 2010.
On December 18, in 2009, Pakistani woman Rubina and Bangladeshi national Solaiman Majumdar, who was said to be linked to the ISI and LeT, was arrested with fake Rs10 lakh.
Among other Pakistani nationals, Mobasshar Shahed was arrested with fake currencies of Rs15 lakh, Zahid Hasan with Rs10 lakh, Abdullah Ali with Rs1 crore, Sabakat Ali with Rs41 lakh, Wahid Ali with Rs90 lakh, Sahadat Ali with Rs40 lakh from 2011 to April this year.
Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam of Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) had earlier said fake Indian currencies usually go to JMB, HuJI and other militant outfits.