Cracking the Fake Currency Racket: NIA Sentences Smugglers

A Vishakhapatnam court sentenced three men to seven years in prison for involvement in a fake currency smuggling racket. Earlier, two others were sentenced to ten years. The racket involved counterfeit notes worth Rs 10.2 lakh. Investigations by the NIA are ongoing to dismantle such networks.

In a significant judgment, the NIA court in Vishakhapatnam handed down seven-year sentences to three men convicted in a major fake currency smuggling case. The men, Firoj Saikh, Tajamul Saikh, and Enamul Haque, were involved in a racket dealing with counterfeit notes amounting to a face value of Rs 10.2 lakh.

The case unfurled following a seizure from Md Mahaboob Baig and Syed Imran on the Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express. Their confessions led to the arrest and subsequent conviction of the trio. Baig and Imran had been previously sentenced to ten years back in June 2019 for their parts in the conspiracy.

While the court penalized Firoj and Enamul Rs 10,000 each, Tajamul was fined Rs 5,000, with additional jail terms looming for default. The National Investigation Agency continues its probe into the dismantling of counterfeit currency operations nationwide.

(With inputs from agencies.)