A major counterfeit currency racket has been busted in Hyderabad, with police seizing fake currency worth ₹6.78 crore and arresting four accused. Three other members of the gang are absconding. Future City Police Commissioner Dr Tarun Joshi disclosed the details of the operation on November 3. The investigation began on the night of November 1, at around 10:15 pm.
Car Check Leads Police to Counterfeit Currency Racket
In a joint operation, the Future City Commissionerate and Shadnagar Special Operations Team (SOT) intercepted a car near Ramoji Film City on NH-65. During the search, police recovered counterfeit notes worth ₹8 lakh, along with fake police identity cards, walkie-talkies and a dummy pistol. Further investigation led officers to a rented house in Kuntloor, where the gang was allegedly operating its currency printing unit.
Photoshop Used to Print Fake ₹500 Notes
Police recovered counterfeit currency worth ₹6.70 crore from the rented premises. The seized currency consisted of ₹500 denomination notes packed into 134 bundles. Officers also confiscated printers, a laptop, scanners, a lamination machine and equipment used for cutting currency notes.
According to the police investigation, the accused scanned genuine currency notes, edited their images using Photoshop and printed counterfeit copies. The gang allegedly used digital tools and printing equipment to produce fake notes on a large scale.
Impersonating Police Officers to Extort Money
The gang allegedly lured people with offers of counterfeit currency at attractive rates. During the transactions, members posed as police officers using fake identity cards, walkie-talkies and a dummy pistol. They threatened buyers and fled with their genuine money. Police have also identified separate cheating incidents involving ₹2 lakh and ₹3 lakh.
The four arrested accused have been identified as Madupoju Karnakar, Chinnolla Manikya Reddy, Cherukupelly Rathnakar Reddy and Karanam Ajay Kumar. Police are searching for the three absconding accused, identified as Jelli Venkatesh, Kunja Balaraju and Kampasati Srinivas.