Police in Malda seized fake Indian currency notes (FICN) with a face value of ₹12.50 lakh in denominations of ₹500 from two persons at Kharibona village on Tuesday.

The duo have been identified as Serajul Sheikh and Sentu Sheikh.

“During interrogation, the duo revealed that their motive was to circulate the FICN at different locations. They will be questioned to discover the source of the counterfeit currencies and the other members of the racket,” said Avijit Banerjee, superintendent of police of Malda.

“In the past 10 days, FICN with a face value of ₹26.88 lakh was seized, and four persons were arrested,” he added.

Abdul Hakim, from Lilong in Manipur’s Thoubal district, was arrested while he was delivering raw materials for making brown sugar in Malda.

“The arrest reveals that the narcotics production and peddling rackets operating in Malda have a link to Manipur. We have gone all out to curb the narcotics menace in the district. Police raids conducted over the past 10 days have resulted in the seizure of approximately 14kg of brown sugar (a derivative of heroin) from different parts of Malda, and the arrest of 16 persons,” said Banerjee.

The price of the seized narcotics is around ₹14 crore in clandestine markets, a
source said.

The police also said that a database is being prepared to track the activities of the drug network in the district.

“We have appealed to the people to share any information regarding narcotics peddling with the police officers. The identity of those who provide us with information would not be disclosed, and they would be rewarded. We are in the process of launching a dedicated mobile number to get information from sources regarding the production and peddling of narcotic substances,” said the SP.