Four Arrested, Counterfeit Currency Printing Equipment Seized

New Delhi: The Western District Police's Anti-Narcotics Squad has cracked down on a gang allegedly attempting to circulate counterfeit currency to support its illegal activities in the national capital. An investigation that began after a young man was caught under suspicious circumstances in Janakpuri led police to a room in Baljit Nagar, Patel Nagar, where an alleged counterfeit currency operation was being run.

Police have arrested four accused and recovered counterfeit currency with a total face value of ₹18,23,800, including both finished and unfinished notes, along with equipment and materials allegedly used for printing and processing the fake currency.

During a press conference at Delhi Police Headquarters, Joint Commissioner of Police, Western Range, Suman Goyal, said Head Constables Praveen and Vinod were patrolling near Gate No. 2 in C-2C Block, Janakpuri, when a suspicious young man started running after seeing the police. The policemen chased and apprehended him.

During questioning, he was identified as 25-year-old Ankit Kumar, a resident of Janakpuri. A search led to the recovery of 250 counterfeit ₹500 notes, having a total face value of ₹1.25 lakh. An FSL expert examined the notes at the spot and found them to be counterfeit.

Following this, FIR No. 409/2026, dated October 2, 2026, was registered at Janakpuri Police Station under the relevant sections, and an investigation was launched.

Interrogation Reveals Alleged Counterfeit Currency Setup

Considering the seriousness of the case, a special team of the Anti-Narcotics Squad was formed. During questioning, Ankit allegedly revealed that he had received the counterfeit notes from Gagandeep Singh alias Manni and Kulwant Singh alias Kake, both residents of Patel Nagar, and was preparing to distribute them further.

Acting on the information, the police team apprehended Gagandeep Singh alias Manni and Kulwant Singh alias Kake from Baljit Nagar, Patel Nagar, on October 2.

Based on their identification, police searched a rented room on the first floor of a house located in Lane No. 21 near the Hanuman Temple. During the search, police allegedly discovered the entire counterfeit currency setup.

Police recovered finished and unfinished counterfeit notes with a total face value of ₹16,98,800. A laptop, hard disk and a large quantity of printing and processing material allegedly used for producing counterfeit currency were also seized.

Landlord Also Came Under Investigation

As the investigation progressed, police detained 34-year-old Amit, the landlord of the premises. According to police, the investigation revealed that he was aware of the activities being carried out in the room and later allegedly became involved in the operation. He was subsequently arrested in the case.

How the Counterfeit Currency Operation Allegedly Worked

According to police, Gagandeep had experience working at a printing press and operating die-cutting machines, while Kulwant had knowledge of graphic designing and Photoshop. Police said the two allegedly combined their skills to arrange the production of counterfeit currency.

The accused allegedly attempted to learn techniques for printing and processing counterfeit notes through videos and tutorials available online. They then allegedly set up printing equipment and other materials in the rented room and began the operation.

According to police, Amit arranged the room, while Ankit allegedly handled the further distribution of the counterfeit notes.

Alleged Roles of the Accused

According to police, Ankit Kumar studied up to Class 12 and had worked as a parking attendant. He is accused of purchasing counterfeit ₹500 notes with a face value of around ₹2.5 lakh from Gagandeep for ₹50,000.

Gagandeep Singh alias Manni had previously worked at his maternal uncle's printing press, where he gained experience in printing and operating die-cutting machines. According to police, after allegedly suffering financial losses through online gaming, he started producing counterfeit currency in collaboration with Kulwant.

Kulwant Singh alias Kake studied up to Class 9. He had previously operated a mobile phone shop and worked as a SIM card dealer. He is reportedly familiar with graphic designing and Photoshop. According to police records, he was arrested in 2012 in a case involving the issuance of SIM cards using forged documents.

Amit studied up to Class 10. According to police, he rented the room to Gagandeep and Kulwant in July 2026 for ₹3,000 per month and later allegedly became involved in the counterfeit currency operation.

Complete Counterfeit Currency Setup Recovered

Police have recovered counterfeit currency with a total face value of ₹18,23,800. This includes ₹1.25 lakh recovered from Ankit and ₹16.98 lakh worth of finished and unfinished notes recovered from the rented room.

Police also seized a laptop, hard disk, screen-printing frames, watermark dye, cotton-fibre sheets, security-thread material, a heat-laminating machine, colour printer, printing ink, stapler, cutter and other equipment allegedly used in the operation.

Police Tracing the Entire Supply Chain

The Western District Police are now investigating the entire supply chain of the alleged counterfeit currency network. The investigation is focused on identifying the source of the fake currency, those who supplied raw materials and machinery, the storage of finished notes and the people involved in distributing them further.

The operation was carried out under the overall supervision of DCP Western District Hareshwar V. Swami.

The team included Anti-Narcotics Squad In-charge Inspector Amit Dhani, and a team led by ACP Operations Rajesh Kumar, comprising SI Sandeep Dalal, SI Deepak Mahla, SI Chandra Shekhar, Head Constables Vinod, Praveen, Anil and Vikas, and Constables Ankit, Deepak and Vikas.