Lucknow: In a major haul, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh has arrested the mastermind behind a fake Indian currency (FICN) smuggling ring operating across the state. Acche Lal Chaurasiya, alias Baccha (56), was apprehended on Thursday with counterfeit notes with a face value of Rs 1.51 lakh in Varanasi.
Chaurasiya, a resident of Maheshganj, Pratapgarh, reportedly had a lengthy criminal record spanning over 20 years with 12 cases to his name.
ADG, ATS, Mohit Agarwal, revealed his modus operandi, stating, “He lured young men to act as carriers for international FICN smugglers, who brought fake notes from Malda, West Bengal, sourced from unidentified printing locations in Bangladesh.”
Agarwal further disclosed that Chaurasiya was connected to two recent FICN seizures – one on January 27 and another on February 6. The arrested carriers in both instances were linked to his network. His apprehension, officials believe, will significantly disrupt the flow of FICN from Malda into other parts of the country. The recovered counterfeit currency was intended for distribution in Uttar Pradesh market. In the February 6 case, four others – Ankur Maurya, Vipin Gupta, Deepak Kumar and Chandan Sainik – were apprehended.
