COIMBATORE: The Salem police on Friday seized demonetised currency worth a face value of Rs 1 crore from the house of a ganja peddler.

Police searched the house of Sabeer, 32, a history sheeter following information from a group of eight persons, who were recently arrested for being in possession of ganja.

As they claimed to have bought the contraband from Sabeer, the police swooped down on his house at Ramalingam Street in Ammapet. Police were shocked to find scrapped currency notes in the value of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 stacked in bags.

Police said Gokula Krishnan and Sabeer, who were into real estate business, received the demonetised money from an industrialist from Senthamangalam in Namakkal in 2017 by promising to exchange them for original notes in return for 20 per cent commission. But, the industrialist passed away due to COVID-19. Thereafter, Sabeer made futile attempts to exchange the money. Meanwhile, Gokula Krishnan asked Sabeer to return Rs 1 lakh borrowed by him. However, Sabeer refused to give back the money and issued death threats by brandishing a knife at Gokula Krishnan. Based on his complaint, the police also booked Sabeer for threatening.