Man held with counterfeit currencies in Kochi

Kochi, Oct 9 (PTI) A 62-year-old man was arrested at Kuruppampadi for possessing counterfeit currency notes, police said on Thursday.

The accused, Abdul Rasheed, a native of Pathanapuram in Kollam, was caught by Kuruppampadi police after he allegedly gave a fake Rs 500 note at a stationery shop in Payyal Junction here on Wednesday night, a police officer said.

The shop owner, who grew suspicious, alerted police.

Police seized 23 counterfeit notes of Rs 500 and Rs 12,000 in genuine currency from him.

Officials said the seized notes were of poor quality, with some bearing duplicate serial numbers.

During the interrogation, Rasheed told police that he procured counterfeits worth Rs 30,000 by paying Rs 10,000 in genuine currency from a person in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

According to police, Rasheed is a history-sheeter with at least eight cases across Kerala for similar offences.

He had been arrested earlier in Palakkad, where police recovered printing equipment from him, and was released from judicial custody just three weeks ago.

The accused was produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody. PTI TBA TBA KH