Three held with fake currency worth Rs 2.5 crore

T’puram: Parassala police and district anti-narcotic special action force (Dansaf) arrested three persons and seized fake currency with a face value of Rs 2.5 crore during a vehicle inspection at Pavathiyanvila near Parassala.

The arrested were identified as Saji, 31, and Achu alias Abi, 34, both natives of Bhagavathinada in Balaramapuram, and Ashtaman Potty, 40, of Poonthura.

According to police, Saji and Achu allegedly convinced Potty that he could obtain fake currency worth Rs 10 lakh by paying Rs 1 lakh. The trio then travelled to Bengaluru, where they allegedly procured the counterfeit notes and were returning to Thiruvananthapuram when they were intercepted during a routine police check.

During inspection, police recovered bundles of fake Rs 500 notes from the vehicle. Officers said the notes carried the words ‘Children’s Bank of India’ and ‘For Projection Purpose Only’ instead of ‘Reserve Bank of India’, indicating that they were imitation notes typically used for film shooting and projection purposes.

Police suspect that the accused intended to use the notes to cheat people by passing them off as genuine currency. A case has been registered and further investigation is under way to trace the source of fake notes and identify any others involved in the operation.