MALAPPURAM: In yet another major haul of defunct banknotes in the district, the police in Perinthalmanna seized currencies of 1,000 and 500 denominations previously valued at Rs 3.14 crore and arrested three persons. They found banned notes hidden inside their car after they stopped them at Angadippuram near the town following a tip off, including its registration number. They identified them as Shamsudheen of Wayanad and M.V. Abutty and M.V. Adhil of Areekode.
They also took the car into custody.
The first accused, Mr Shamsudheen, is a Chennai-based businessman. The three were held during a secret raid by the special investigation team of Perinthalmanna Police led by DySP M.P. Mohanachandran, inspector T.S. Binu and sub-inspector V.K. Kamarudheen. The raid was part of ongoing crackdown on illegal money dealings in the district.
The police had information that covert dealers were facilitating the exchange of
demonetised notes through banks. “We are investigating the case and the involvement of black money dealers outside Kerala. The probe will also be extended to Chennai,” Mr Mohanachandran said. A clandestine network is active in this illegal trade which offers huge commission for exchanging the defunct currencies, he said. The police had seized demonetized notes worth Rs 4.5 crore from various parts of Perinthalmanna during the past two months and held 15 persons. In another crackdown on Friday, they had seized unaccounted money worth Rs 1.1 crore from two carriers.
