Within just three days after signing of an agreement between India and Bangladesh to combat circulation of fake currency notes, members of Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) busted a gang of currency forgers and arrested its  six members in Mirpur area of the capital on Monday night. Talking to The Independent, Deputy  Commissioner ( DB-West) of DMP Shaikh Nazmul Alam said, “We also recovered fake currency notes worth Tk50 lakh from their possession in an overnight drive at different places in Mirpur.”
The arrestees were identified as Shafiqul Islam, Mohammad Sohag Adhikari, Suman Ahmed, M Bayejid Uddin, Siddiqur Rahman and Jesmin Akhter.
DB also recovered various currency forging materials and equipment, including currency papers, 10 frames, dye, security ribbon, printer, desktop and laptop, said DC Nazmul.
During primary interrogation, the arrestees admitted that they were producing fake banknotes ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-fitr. About the fake currency syndicate, the top DB official said such fake currency syndicate works in three groups.
One manufactures security thread and fake currency notes another collects these currency notes from them and the third one finally markets those across the country. Quoting the gang members, DC Nazmul said the manufactures sell fake currency notes of Tk one lakh at only Tk ten to twelve thousand.
But the second group sells those fake currency notes at Tk twenty to twenty five thousand to the third party.
Later the third party circulates the fake notes across the country.
The intelligence officers, however, claimed the group could not release any fake currency notes in the market this year.
DB Assistant Commissioner Mahmud Naser Jony said the ring was planning to circulate Tk 5o lakh  ahead of Ramadan.
The gang has been producing fake notes for six to seven years.
Several members of the gang had been arrested earlier, he added. Earlier this week, India and Bangladesh signed an agreement to combat the surge in currency counterfeiting.