Shillong: The BSF have tightened vigil along the Indo-Bangladesh border in the whole north eastern region, in the wake of busting of a multi-crore fake currency racket by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Hyderabad.
"We are on alert all the time especially in the
absence of a proper fence along the border...We are not taking
things lightly with reports about these fake note smugglers
opting for the air routes," the official said.
The official was asked about any stepped-up BSF
surveillance in the wake of report about NIA busting a
nation-wide network in Hyderabad which had allegedly smuggled
large sums in 1000, 500 and 100 denomination face value, from
Bangladesh via air route.
"We have apprehended a number of Bangladesh nationals
who are working closely with their counterparts in the country
to smuggle fake notes in the past one year," the border guard
official said in reply.
"We have our own intelligence unit which is working
day in and day out," he said.
The BSF guards a 4,096-km long boundary covering the
five states of West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and
Mizoram.
Union home ministry sources said here that the most
preferred route was by air, because without specific
intelligence, it is impossible to detect fake currency.
From 2008-2009, Rs 2.5 crore of fake currency were
seized by the DRI, the sources said.
In 2010, the seizures rose sharply to Rs 27 crores.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 18:55