Connect with us
Sunday,31-May-2026
Breaking News

Crime

As drug net tightens, ISI and D-Syndicate push massive fake currency surge

Published

on

New Delhi, Dec 10: With the Indian agencies cracking down heavily on the narcotics trade, Intelligence Bureau officials have warned about an uptick in the smuggling of fake currency notes. In the past two weeks, several operations have been carried out in various parts of the country in which fake currency rackets have been busted.

The fake currency mafia is controlled by the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate, which is based in Pakistan. While the syndicate is trying to find newer routes and partners to further the narcotics trade, it is also stepping up operations relating to fake Indian currency. The ISI needs funds to resurrect its terror groups, which were largely beaten down during Operation Sindoor.

The fake currency racket had taken a slight backseat for some years, but now there are full-fledged plans to resume operations on a very large scale. Malda in West Bengal remains the main hub for this racket in India. Now with an unfriendly regime in place in Bangladesh, the ISI sees an opportunity to scale up operations.

All the fake currency that is being printed in Pakistan is first routed into Bangladesh. The ISI finds no problem in routing fake notes into Bangladesh, as Islamabad and Dhaka have close ties today. The sea route has been opened up, and the visa process is much simpler for Pakistanis, and this is being taken advantage of by the ISI.

From Bangladesh, the operatives push the fake currency into Malda, following which it is circulated across the country. Officials report that apart from West Bengal, mini modules have been set up in various parts of the country. The notes are transported either from Malda or Murshidabad in West Bengal to the rest of the country.

An official said there has been an increase in such cases, as the ISI and D-Syndicate are pushing it massively. There is a desperate need for funds as the ISI is not only trying to revive terror groups in Pakistan, but is also creating another front in Bangladesh. It wants to engage India on both fronts, and hence the simultaneous push is being made, the official explained.

These gangs operating the racket in India have been coming up with various ways to push fake notes into the market. In Gujarat, a gang that was running a money-doubling scam was busted. It was found that victims were lured into the scheme, and they were given fake Indian currency. This gang was operating mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra, the probe has revealed.

While the Bangladesh-West Bengal route is the primary one for this racket, there is also a fresh push to smuggle these notes through the UAE into Kerala. Over the years, Kasargod in Kerala has become a major hub for smuggling fake currency notes.

M.B. Moosa, Abdul Rahman, K.M. Hamza, Kallatra Abdul Ha Khader Haji, Irabhim Soopi, K.S. Abdullah, and Kadavath Atta are the ones who have been running this racket. The notes from Pakistan would reach these persons through the UAE route.

Officials say that the Kerala route is one of the hardest to control. There is a huge rush at the airports owing to the number of people visiting the Gulf nations. The ISI has taken advantage of the stress on the security mechanism at these airports in Kerala. Most of the time, these persons get away because the customs formations are understaffed. This makes checking everyone difficult.

Further, the detection has also become very difficult owing to the quality of the notes that are being printed. An Intelligence Bureau official said that the notes are printed in government printing presses in Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Multan, and Peshawar. These are the same places where the official Pakistani Rupee is also printed. Hence, the quality of the Indian notes being printed in Pakistan is of very superior quality, and this is making detection a challenge, the officer explained.

The gravity of the problem in India, courtesy this fresh push by Dawood and the ISI, can be seen in a report published by the US State Department. “India faces an increasing inflow of high-quality counterfeit currency, which is produced primarily in Pakistan but smuggled to India through multiple international routes. Criminal networks exchange counterfeit currency for genuine notes, which not only facilitates money laundering but also represents a threat to the Indian economy,” the report says.

Crime

Mumbai: Irfan Edenwala arrested on charges of fraud and preparing fake documents, including under the Arms Act

Published

on

CRIME

Mumbai; The Mumbai Police has claimed to have arrested a youth who had cheated the police and administration by producing fake licenses and clearance certificates and had obtained fake police clearance certificates on Nagaland license. At Khar Police Station, Mumbai, a person named Faiz Irfan Edenwala, aged 36, illegally renewed his arms license from Nagaland using fake police clearance certificates and illegally kept firearms on the said arms license. He has also not submitted information about the said firearms in his possession to the Mumbai Police Commissionerate. Therefore, a case has been registered against him at Khar Police Station under sections 465, 467, 471, 474 IPC as well as sections 3, 25(1) (a), 30 of the Arms Act, 1959.

The accused named Faiz Irfan was arrested in the said crime on today as the investigation revealed that he was directly involved in the crime.

The said arrested accused was produced in the 9th Court, Bandra (East), Mumbai on May 30 and the Hon’ble Court remanded the said accused in police custody till June 2. Further investigation into the said crime is underway.

Continue Reading

Crime

NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Case: CBI Arrests 2 More Accused, Doctor From Latur & Coaching Faculty From Pune

Published

on

Mumbai: CBI has arrested two more accused in NEET-UG 2026 Examination paper leak case, bringing the total number of persons arrested in this case to 13.

An accused namely Dr Manoj Shirure, a Latur-based doctor has been arrested in the NEET UG 2026 questions leak case. He played key role in facilitating three students including the son of an accused coaching centre owner in getting the Chemistry questions from the accused P V Kulkarni. 

Another arrested accused is Tejas Shah, who is a physics faculty at a Pune-based coaching centre. He got the leaked Physics questions of NEET UG 2026 Exam from arrested accused Manisha Havaldar. 

Investigation to unearth the chain as well as the conspiracy in this case is ongoing. CBI has so far conducted searches at 49 locations at various places and seized several incriminating documents, Laptops, and mobile phones. Detailed analysis of the seized items is going on.

It may be recalled that CBI has registered this case on 12.05.2026 based on the written complaint given by Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India pertaining to alleged paper leak of NEET-UG 2026 Examination. Immediately after registration of the case, special teams were formed and searches were conducted at various locations across the country, and several suspects were picked up and interrogated. 

So far 13 accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar. Investigation is continuing with various special teams working in tandem and the investigation has brought out the actual source of the leakage of Chemistry, Biology and Physics questions which were circulated before the exam. 

CBI is committed to comprehensive, impartial and professional investigation in this case. 

Continue Reading

Crime

Delhi Police bust interstate cyber fraud network; three held for supplying bank account kits, SIM cards

Published

on

New Delhi, May 27: The Cyber Police Station of Central District Police on Wednesday busted an interstate cyber fraud network involved in supplying bank account kits, SIM cards, and ATM cards that were used in online fraud cases. Three key operatives linked to the racket have been arrested from Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.

According to police, the accused targeted innocent citizens by impersonating Paytm employees and gaining access to victims’ mobile phones on the pretext of updating KYC details or Paytm settings.

The breakthrough came after a complaint was lodged at PS Cyber Central by a tea seller residing in South Patel Nagar, Delhi. The complainant alleged that an unidentified man visited his tea stall posing as a Paytm employee and offered to update the KYC settings on his mobile phone. During the process, the fraudster dishonestly gained access to the device and fraudulently transferred Rs 90,000 from the victim’s bank account.

Following the complaint, police conducted a preliminary enquiry and technical examination of the transaction trail. Subsequently, FIR No. 26/2026 dated May 15, under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), was registered at PS Cyber Central, and an investigation was initiated.

Considering the seriousness and interstate nature of the offence, a dedicated police team comprising SI Ravinder Kumar, HC Deepak, and HC Jai Kishan was formed under the supervision of SHO/Cyber Inspector Yograj Dalal and the overall supervision of ACP/OPS/Central Shri Padam Singh Rana.

During the investigation, the team carried out extensive technical surveillance, beneficiary account verification, bank transaction analysis, CCTV footage examination, digital profiling, and financial trail analysis. Investigators found that the cheated amount had been transferred into a Punjab National Bank account allegedly being used for routing proceeds of cyber fraud.

Further scrutiny of KYC documents, transaction records, and registered mobile numbers led to the identification of accused Vishesh Singh, a resident of Panchkula, Haryana. Police later discovered that beneficiary bank accounts, SIM cards, and ATM kits were being procured and supplied through an organised interstate network for use in cyber fraud activities.

Acting on technical inputs and local Intelligence, police teams conducted multiple raids in Panchkula, Haryana; Zirakpur in Mohali; and adjoining areas of Haryana and Punjab. Sustained surveillance and field verification ultimately resulted in the arrest of three accused persons on May 19.

The arrested accused have been identified as Vishesh Singh, 22, a resident of Panchkula, Haryana; Sachin Maurya, 22, also from Panchkula; and Ashish Sharma, 27, a resident of Kottla Kallan in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district.

According to police, Vishesh Singh acted as a beneficiary bank account holder and supplied bank account kits and SIM cards for cyber fraud activities. Sachin Maurya allegedly worked as a facilitator involved in collecting bank account kits and supplying them to other cyber fraud operatives. Ashish Sharma was allegedly responsible for handling and supplying multiple bank account kits to cyber fraud associates operating in different locations.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they used to receive commissions for arranging and supplying bank accounts, ATM cards, registered SIM cards, and banking credentials. These were later used by cyber fraudsters for routing and withdrawing cheated money in various fraud cases.

Police said the accused acted as intermediaries between bank account providers and organised cyber fraud syndicates operating in different states through mule bank accounts.

Technical surveillance, WhatsApp profiling, digital communication analysis, and mobile number linkage examination further revealed the active involvement of Sachin Maurya and Ashish Sharma in arranging, collecting, and circulating bank account kits and SIM cards to cyber fraudsters.

Investigators also found that the accused extensively used social media platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp for communication, coordination, and transferring banking kits among members of the cyber fraud network.

Analysis of the seized mobile phones revealed incriminating digital evidence, including WhatsApp chats related to the supply of bank accounts and commission distribution, contact details of suspected cyber fraud associates, social media communications with co-accused persons, and details of mule bank accounts, SIM cards, and beneficiary account credentials.

Police recovered four mobile phones allegedly used for circulating bank account details and coordinating cyber fraud activities.

Further technical examination has revealed possible links with several other cyber fraud complaints and interstate cyber fraud modules. Investigation regarding the identification of additional co-accused persons, tracing of cheated money, and identification of other victims is currently underway.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending