Hyderabad: The car was stopped near Ramoji Film City on the evening of November 1. Inside were fake Rs 500 notes with a face value of Rs 6.78 crore.
Four men were arrested, police said on Tuesday. They have been identified as Madupoju Karnakar, Chinnolla Manikya Reddy, Cherukupelly Rathnakar Reddy and Karanam Ajay Kumar.
Commissioner of Police Dr Tarun Joshi said the operation was carried out jointly by Abdullapurmet police and the Shadnagar Special Operations Team. The interception was made on NH-65.
The trail led to a rented house at Kuntloor, where police found what they describe as a counterfeit currency printing unit. Printers, a laptop, currency-cutting machines and other equipment were seized.
The alleged method is the part that stands out. Police say the gang first tried to push the notes by offering buyers Rs 3-4 lakh in counterfeit currency for every Rs 1 lakh of genuine cash. When that did not work, they changed tack.
Members would show prospective buyers genuine currency to gain their confidence. Others would then arrive posing as police officers, with fake identity cards, walkie-talkies and a dummy pistol, and threaten the buyers with legal action. They would leave with the buyers' genuine money.
Two such incidents are reported to have netted the gang Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively, according to the police account.
The Rs 6.78 crore is the face value of the seized notes, not the amount the gang is believed to have earned. Fake notes of this volume take time to print and require a supply chain for paper, ink and the machines.
Investigators will now work backwards from the Kuntloor unit, to where the paper, ink and plates came from and how long the press had been running.
Further investigation is on, the Commissioner said.