Hyderabad fake currency bust: 8 held, ₹4.75 lakh seized

• Joint raid at Eidgah Grounds nabs printers, couriers and receivers

• Kingpin used scanner, Photoshop and Instagram; car, bikes, phones seized

Hyderabad, Nov. 13: A joint team of Mehdipatnam Police and the Commissioner’s Task Force (South West Zone) busted a counterfeit currency network in a raid at Eidgah Grounds, First Lancer, apprehending eight accused and seizing fake ₹500 notes worth ₹4.75 lakh.

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Officers said the group was printing, bundling, and circulating forged notes across city localities using a graded distribution chain.

The arrested were taken to the police station on November 12 at 10:45 am and produced before court the same evening.

Police identified the arrested as Kasthuri Ramesh Babu, Abdul Waheed, Mohd Abdul Khader @ Taha, Mohd Sohail, Mohd Fahad, Shaik Imran, Omer Khan, and Syed Altamash Ahmed.

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Investigators said Ramesh Babu, previously arrested in fake currency cases, operated from his Tandur residence with his sister, where they allegedly prepared forged notes.

On search at his Kokat Road house, officers recovered material used for printing and finishing forged notes, linking him to supply lines that fed lower-tier distributors and passers.

Explaining the modus operandi, police said original ₹500 notes were scanned front and back, resized in Photoshop on a laptop, and printed on JK bond paper before being cut to currency dimensions.

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A green strip mimicking a security thread was fashioned from gift-wrap paper and pasted with adhesive; notes were then heat-dried and bundled to resemble genuine stacks.

The gang allegedly pushed the fakes on commission “ratios” — from 1:4 at the source down to 1:2 at the final exchangers — to profit while masking origin.

Investigators said Ramesh Babu advertised via an Instagram video and shared his number to attract buyers.

Waheed and Taha allegedly sourced the fakes at a 1:4 ratio and passed them to Sohail and Fahad at 1:3, who then supplied Imran and Omer at 1:2; Imran and Omer attempted to exchange notes through Altamash, according to police.

Officers added that absconding associates would be arrested soon and that prior case histories of the alleged printers connect to multiple jurisdictions.

Seizures include counterfeit ₹500 notes totaling ₹4,75,000 (950 notes), a Maruti Suzuki Fronx (TG 13 D 2859), three two-wheelers — Honda Activa (TS 07 JJ 4789), Suzuki Access (TG 12 C 1742), and Honda Grazia (TS 12 EM 0948) — and nine mobile phones.

Police said the haul demonstrates a complete supply chain spanning printing, packaging, logistics and placement.

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The operation was conducted under the supervision of G. Chandra Mohan, DCP South West Zone, with guidance from Iqbal Siddiqui, Addl DCP Task Force (SW), Krishna Goud, Addl DCP (SW), and B. Kishan Kumar, ACP Asif Nagar.
The on-ground team included Inspectors S. Mallesh and G. Santosh Kumar (Task Force SW), Detective Inspector N. Rambabu, SI Smt. N. Preethi Reddy, and staff of PS Mehdipatnam. Officials said personnel involved would be suitably rewarded for their work.

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