Note change racket busted, 1.44 crore seized in Kovai

Police said that 18 persons have been detained in connection with the recovery of notes, which included bundles of 100s as well, from the private institution on Palakkad Road at Kuniyamuthur. Preliminary inquiries by police and Income Tax (I-T) personnel revealed that the cash belonged to three of the 18 persons, who brought it to the spot for exchange against demonetised notes.

It is learnt that the middle men offered Rs 1 crore in exchange to demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for Rs 1.25 crore. “But there was not a single old note in the denomination of Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 in the seized bundles. It is suspected that they were part of a bigger racket and effort is on to track their network, in which middlemen and a few big shots are alleged to have been involved,” a senior police officer said. A senior police officer said that acting on a tip-off that black money was being exchanged near Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology on Palakkad Main Road for the last few days, the city police started monitoring movement of vehicles on that stretch. Last week Anbarasan, elder brother of Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani lodged a complaint with the Kuniyamuthur police alleging that the minister’s name was being used by some racketeers for exchange of demonetised notes. The private institution also lodged a complaint with the Kuniyamuthur Police alleging suspicious movement of luxury cars near the institution.

It is learnt that the college allegedly received anonymous calls offering to exchange demonetised notes and sought action against persons involved in the illegal transaction. A special team of 10 personnel, which was formed on the instructions of Coimbatore Police Commissioner A Amalraj intercepted three four-wheelers near the college on information and took them into the institution. “During a subsequent check, Rs 1.44 crore in the denomination of Rs 2,000 and Rs 100 were found in three vehicles. Three persons had brought the money from Thoothukudi and Udumalpet,” an officer involved in the operation told DTNext.

During inquiries the trio admitted that they came to the spot to exchange money with some persons whom they contacted over phone. Then with the help of the trio and aides, a few brokers involved in the illegal activity were made to come to the college, the officer said. At the same time, a team, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police S Lakshmi, was waiting outside the college. Once when the brokers arrived at the spot, the team barged into the institution with a few I-T personnel around 10 pm and rounded up 18 persons. While police have not registered a case, the matter has been transferred to the I-T department. I-T sleuths are quizzing the 18 persons on how they managed to collect such a high sum while there was a cap on withdrawal.