Somewhere in the diamond city, a news weekly firm was busted with fake notes worth ₹9.36 lakh of ₹500 and ₹200 denominations on the evening of May 22.

The Surat Special Operation Group (SOG) and Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB) raided the office of Surat Herald Weekly and SH News 24/7 channel, in Surat’s Limbayat and seized fake currency notes of ₹500 and ₹200 denominations totalling ₹9.36 lakhs, along with 3,110 sheets of paper used for printing the notes, a colour printer, two cutting machines, green ink pens, ink bottles, press ID cards of the news channel, and four interview microphones.

The police nabbed 46-year-old Firoz Shah of Limbayat, who is the owner of a weekly newspaper and news channel , Babulal Kapasia (41) of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, and Safiq Khan Ismail Khan (53) of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh.

The interrogation revealed that Shah was advised by Kapasia and Khan to print fake notes to repay his debts. They promised to help him find customers and circulate the notes in Surat. 

With the help of YouTube videos, Shah learned how to print fake currency notes and bought the necessary equipment. He began to print fake currency notes at his news channel office two months ago.

Kapasia and Khan were nabbed by the team of SOG-PCB when they were coming back with paper and ink from MP. The police have registered a case and are conducting further investigations.

Shah used a ball pen with green ink to draw security threads on currency notes, making the notes look real.

To avoid suspicion, Shah circulated the fake notes at small vegetable stalls and paan shops, using ₹500 notes for purchases of ₹50 to ₹100 and ₹200 notes for smaller items.

The operation was a result of PCB and SOG monitoring the movement of Shah and his teammates for months. To reach him, the police conducted undercover surveillance for two months, posing as small vendors.

Who is Firoz Shah?

Firoz Shah was arrested in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, with ₹35,000 in counterfeit notes. He was released on bail by the High Court.

After relocating to Limbayat, Surat, he initially worked as a land broker. Two years ago, he obtained a licence for money lending, which resulted in financial losses.

Finally, six months ago, Shah started his news channel. He incurred a debt of ₹5 lakhs over medical expenses for himself and his daughter, leading to harassment by creditors.

Later, he decided to pay the debt by printing fake currency, as suggested by Khan and Kapasia.

Rajdeep Nakum, DCP, SOG Surat, said, “Firoz Shah after many efforts made bogus currency notes and sold ₹4 lakh of them to Sadiq alias Bataka Abbas Ali (resident of Umarwada) at the rate of ₹80,000. SOG is investigating the matter.”

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