Tailor held for printing Rs 2K notes after success with Rs 100

Chennai

The accused Ilias of Pulianthope is a tailor by profession and started making counterfeit currencies at home using a printer machine during the lockdown as he ran out of work, said police.

“He says his friend Ayub gave him the idea and he learnt the tricks by watching YouTube videos,” said Inspector P Amutha.

On Saturday afternoon, Ilias reached a grocery shop in Valasaravakkam and flashed a Rs 2,000 note after purchasing for Rs 320. The woman at the shop gave him the balance which gave Ilias confidence to give another three notes seeking change claiming that he had to pay his construction workers.

While he left the shop after exchanging the notes, the woman grew suspicious and checked with shopkeepers in the neighbourhood and found out that the notes were counterfeit. Immediately, the police control room was alerted and Valasaravakkam police reached the spot and combed the CCTV footage to identify him.

Later, his trail was followed before he was secured at a tea shop near Porur. Based on his inputs, his house was searched and counterfeit notes of Rs 2,000 denomination worth Rs 70,000 were seized from him apart from the printer.

“He used the specific quality paper to make the currencies as close as the original ones. Not everybody will be able to differentiate the notes. He first started printing Rs 100 denomination notes and since nobody could find out, he started printing Rs 2,000 notes too,” said an official.

“He had printed Rs 100 notes worth Rs 40,000 and spent it all and no one suspected him. However, no specific ink or anything else has been used.

It’s the stock ink in the printer which he bought at Ritchie Street,” the official added. Ilias was remanded in judicial custody on Sunday.

According to the National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) annual ‘Crime in India’ report, Rs 94.21 lakh worth counterfeit currency was seized in Tamil Nadu last year. The State had also topped the India list with regard to seizure of counterfeit Rs 2,000 notes in 2018.