As law enforcers continue to bust an increasing number of counterfeiting gangs ahead of Eid, the latest round of arrest has revealed an alarming fact: around Tk50 lakh in fake money has already been disseminated in the market.
Rapid Action Battalion disclosed the information following the arrest of five counterfeiters from the capital’s Banasree early yesterday, seizing Tk1.4 crore in fake notes from their possession. The gang reportedly planned to circulate another Tk1 crore in fake notes before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.
The perpetrators – teaming up in small groups – used the counterfeit money to buy various products from retail markets and kept the profit for themselves. The arrestees, however, were careful in their methods, never distributing fake currency in large amounts at a single place in order to avoid any suspicion.
The detained gang members also slipped in four or five notes of fake money – all with denominations of Tk500 or Tk1,000 – inside bundles of Tk50,000, said RAB’s legal and media wing Director Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan.
Addressing a media briefing at the RAB headquarters, he said the gang of five were held with forgery equipments that included special note-making screens and boards, printers, laptops, scanners, a laminating machine and roles of special security threads that are used to authenticate currency.
The arrestees are: Rahim Shaikh, 35; his first wife Fatema, 24; second wife Rubina Khatun, 19; Rahim’s employee Md Asad, 22; and Md Tazim Hossain, 26.
Mufti Mahmud said Rahim arrived in Dhaka from Pirojpur in 2003 and met Humayun, leader of another counterfeiting gang. After being trained by Humayun, Rahim also taught the tricks of the trade to his wives and employed other women from his native village at different times, the RAB commander added.
Rahim bought a special tissue-paper-like material – used for printing the money – from the capital’s Babu Bazar area; the security thread was bought from Chawkbazar; screens and boards were bought from Malitola; and printer and others instrument were collected from Paltan.
The legal wing director said the detained gang members have admitted of already disseminating Tk50 lakh in fake notes in the market. They had a target of spreading Tk1 crore in counterfeit currency ahead of Eid, while the seized materials were enough to produce Tk10 crore in fake money, Mufti Mahmud said.
Since its formation, the elite force has arrested over 1,700 money counterfeiters and recovered fake notes equivalent to seven crore in Bangladeshi taka, five crore in Indian rupees, and 300,000 US dollars, the RAB commander said.