New Delhi, March 1 – In a major breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Nepali citizen, who had been on the run since 2014, in a case involving fake Indian currency and a Pakistani national based in Dubai, an official said.
"The accused, Noor Mohammed, from the Bara district of Nepal, who had a warrant for his arrest, was apprehended on Sunday from the Police Station in Shahpur Patori area, Samastipur, Bihar," the agency said in a statement on Sunday.
The NIA had filed a charge sheet against him before its special court at Patiala House Courts in New Delhi in November 2017.
"The NIA had registered the case RC-02/2014/NIA/DLI in June 2014 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Undefined Sections (UA) Act, following the recovery of 4,988 high-quality counterfeit Indian currency notes of Rs 1,000 denomination, with a face value of Rs 49,88,000, in April 2014," the agency said.
The currency, seized at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, was brought into the country from Dubai on April 17 and 18, 2014, it said.
The NIA investigation revealed that Noor Mohammed had entered into a criminal conspiracy with co-accused Ekramul Ansari and others, including Pakistani national Syed Muhammad Shafi @ Shafi Chacha, for the procurement, transportation, supply, and circulation of high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) in India.
As part of the conspiracy aimed at adversely impacting the country's monetary stability, Noor Mohammed had facilitated meetings between the co-accused persons for the transportation and supply of FICN.
The NIA found during the investigation that Noor Mohammed had closely monitored the delivery of the seized consignment.
Further investigation into the case is ongoing.
In a separate case, on February 6 this year, the NIA had filed a charge sheet against Md. Fasi Uddin, a resident of Hyderabad, in connection with the seizure of high-quality Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) from Banjariya in Bihar's Champaran district, which exposed a transnational counterfeit currency racket allegedly operating through networks linked to Pakistan and Nepal.
According to the NIA, Md. Fasi Uddin was an active member of an international network involved in the procurement, smuggling, and circulation of counterfeit currency aimed at undermining India's economic security.
