April 7, 2010
KATHMANDU: On April 3, Nepal police nabbed Mohammad Hamid, yet another Pakistani courier of fake Indian rupees destined for India. He was arrested in a Kathmandu hotel, where he was awaitng his Nepali counterparts. Police said Hamid flew into Nepal on Pakistan International Airlines and was carrying nearly Rs.9 million in fake Indian currency that had been given to him by an associate, (identified only as Javed), a resident of Lahore, Pakistan.
Police later nabbed Hamid’s two Nepali accomplices, who were scheduled to receive the money from him. The currency notes were to have been muled to India through Raxaul (in India’s state of Bihar), where two Indians, using an electronics shop as their front, were also part of the international outfit.
According to a recent report, Nepal remains the biggest transit route for counterfeit rupees smuggled into India from Pakistan, although Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have emerged as alternative routes. Three busy cities on the Indo-Nepal border - Janakpur, Nepalgunj and Birgunj – have been identified as the main exits through which the money is taken to India.
Already this year, four Pakistani smugglers have been caught by Nepali police, including a woman.
The most sensational arrest occurred in January, when police arrested the son of a powerful former minister, Yunus Ansari, who is alleged to have links with Mafia-terrorist kingpin Dawood Ibrahim. The two Pakistanis who were arrested while handing over fake Indian notes and drugs to Ansari's bodyguard said they had brought the consignment from Karachi, where Dawood is believed to be hiding.
To read my article on Dawood Ibrahim, CLICK HERE
In February, the murder of Jamim Shah, a controversial media baron in Kathmandu, renewed speculation about the slain businessman’s connections with the fake Indian currency racket.
Nepal's role as a growing transit route for counterfeit money, due to the 1,800 km open border it shares with India, had become a major security concern for India. Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Home Secretary G.S. Pillai and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna have all conducted high-level talks with Nepali senior officials in recent months.
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