Fake Currency of Rs 500 notes worth around Rs 7 crore seized in Hyderabad

Hyderabad police have busted an alleged counterfeit currency racket and arrested four people after seizing fake ₹500 notes with a total face value of ₹6.78 crore.

According to reports, the operation was conducted by Abdullapurmet Police and the Shadnagar Special Operations Team (SOT). Police intercepted a car near Ramoji Film City on National Highway 65 on November 1.

Four people were arrested—Madupoju Karnakar, Chinnolla Manikya Reddy, Cherukupelly Rathnakar Reddy, and Karanam Ajay Kumar—while three others remain absconding.

The operation began on November 1, 2026, when the Abdullapurmet Police and the Shadnagar Special Operations Team (SOT) acted on a specific tip-off. They conducted a vehicle check on National Highway 65 near Ramoji Film City. Upon searching the suspects’ car, police initially recovered Rs 8 lakh worth of fake Rs 500 notes and Fake police identity cards, walkie-talkie sets, and an imitation pistol. Four mobile phones and the getaway vehicle were also recovered.

During the investigation, police got to know about an alleged counterfeit currency printing unit operating from a rented house in Kuntloor.

Following confessions from the four arrested suspects, police raided a rented house in the Kuntloor area on the city’s outskirts. This location served as their main production facility, where officers seized an additional Rs 6.70 crore in fake notes organized into 134 separate bundles. High-end color printers, a laptop, a lamination machine, and professional currency-cutting machines were active at the site.

The gang would set up meetings with wealthy individuals under the guise of an attractive exchange rate (promising up to Rs 4 lakh in fake currency for Rs 1 lakh in real cash).

To prove their “quality,” they would show genuine high-denomination Indian currency to the buyers first.

Once the buyers arrived with a bag of real cash, other members of the gang would arrive in vehicles fitted with fake license plates. Posing as raiding police officers, they flashed fake IDs, brandished the dummy pistol, and threatened the buyers with severe prison time.

They would “seize” the victim’s genuine cash as evidence and flee the scene. Because the victims were trying to buy illegal counterfeit notes, they rarely reported these robberies to the real authorities. The gang successfully pulled off at least two such robberies, extorting Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively before getting caught.

The police are currently tracing the origins of the specialized paper and high-end printing equipment used in the operation, while actively hunting for the three remaining gang members who are still at large.

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Bank Employees should be careful

In view of the recent incidents involving the seizure of large quantities of counterfeit currency in Hyderabad, bank employees, particularly cashiers and other staff handling cash, should remain extra vigilant while accepting and processing currency notes.

Employees should carefully examine and sort cash received from customers, especially ₹500 denomination notes, and check for security features such as the watermark, security thread, colour-changing ink, see-through register and other prescribed security features.

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Any suspicious or counterfeit-looking note should be dealt with strictly as per RBI guidelines and the bank’s prescribed procedures. Such incidents highlight the importance of proper cash verification and alertness among bank employees to prevent counterfeit currency from entering the banking system.

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