RAB members on Monday busted a gang of currency forgers in the capital’s Mirpur area who buys Tk1,000 notes for only Tk400 and spread them in the city.
Primary interrogation revealed that there are three stages through which the fake currency is produced and brought to the market.
In the first stage, the fake notes are printed in clandestine “factories” and sold to wholesalers at Tk260 per note. In the next stage, the fake notes reach the retailers who buy them for Tk300-Tk400 per piece. In the third stage, gangs such as the one busted in Mirpur, buy bundles of Tk1 lakh face value for around Tk60,000-Tk70,00 and cleverly inject them into the market.
In a special drive in Mirpur, the RAB 2 members arrested fake note sellers Md Arif, 30, and Md Ashraf, 29. They also recovered a large stash of 70,000 fake notes from their possessions, said Maruf Ahmed, an operations officer of the unit, when they brought the arrestees before media yesterday. A case was filed with the Mirpur police.
Arif is a construction worker by profession. He met fake note trader Alal while living in a mess in Rayerbagh area. Inspired by Alal, he joined the gang to earn some quick bucks. After collecting enough money, he started his own business. Ashraf is a readymade garment worker. Arif brought him to the business and spread fake notes in various areas in the capital.