Surat: The city police’s crime branch today arrested three persons with 600 counterfeit currency notes of the defunct Rs 1,000 denomination.
Following a tip-off, crime branch officials nabbed three persons near a hospital in Limbayat area of the city, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Vaghela.
Zakir Patel (40), one of the accused, claimed to be a British citizen and told the police that he had brought the notes from UK to exchange them with new notes, said Vaghela.
Other two were identified as Faizal Patel (26) and Sarfaraz Yakub (35), both working as electricians.
“Zakir Patel, who originally belongs to Bharuch, claimed he is a citizen of UK and works there as a teacher. He claimed to have acquired these 600 notes of Rs 1,000 in UK and come to India some time back,” said the DCP.
“We are yet to verify his claims about citizenship and acquisition of these notes with total face value of Rs 6 lakh,” he said.
“The trio claimed they wanted to exchange these fake notes with new notes by paying around 20 to 30 per cent commission. We are investigating their possible links with people who are into this illegal trade,” said the DCP.