Bhubaneswar: The directorate of revenue intelligence have intercepted a passenger travelling in the Kamakhya-Yesvantpur Express near Khurda Road and seized 150 fake Indian currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination from his possession.

The directorate did not reveal the name of the accused. An official said the 37-year-old person hailing from Jharkhand was carrying the fake notes in two bundles in a polythene packet inside an airbag and was nabbed on Thursday.

"He claimed to have procured the fake notes from Kaliachak of Malda district in Bengal. He also told us that the person, who had provided him the notes, brought those from Bangladesh. His plan was to exchange them in Bangalore, mainly by purchasing garments or exchanging with small traders," said an official.

However, the accused tried to escape from the directorate office, which is running in a rented house at Gajapati Nagar in Shaeed Nagar police limits. Though officials remained tight-lipped about the incident, sources said the accused managed to escape from the interrogation room and even locked the interrogating official in it. He later tried to jump off the first floor but was soon nabbed by other officials.

Officials said Bangladeshi syndicates had been smuggling papers from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to match the paper used for printing of Rs 2,000 notes. "The syndicates manufacture the counterfeit notes by using sophisticated printing machines. We are also suspecting the circulation of counterfeit notes in Odisha," said an official.

In March last year, the police had raided a house at Salia Sahi, a slum in Bhubaneswar, and seized a printer and desktop used in printing of fake currency notes. The cops had arrested three persons in this connection. The accused used to print even the serial numbers from the original notes.