Chennai man gets 5-year jail for Pak-based counterfeit currency plot

CHENNAI: More than 11 years after Noorudeen, 39, of Vyasarpadi in Chennai was caught trafficking counterfeit Indian currency, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here found him guilty and sentenced him to five years in jail.

The judgment connects his role in Chennai’s fake note racket with an international conspiracy directed by a serving officer of the Pakistan Navy.The wider plot involved Sri Lankan national Sakir Hussaien and Amir Zubair Siddiqui, then posted as counsellor at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo. Investigators obtained information from the United States and Malaysia confirming that the phone numbers used by Siddiqui were registered with the Pakistan naval headquarters in Islamabad.

This confirmed that he was serving as Director, Counter Intelligence, Pakistan Navy, and not merely functioning as a diplomat.According to the judgment, Siddiqui instructed operatives to conduct reconnaissance of the US Consulate in Chennai, the Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant, and Bengaluru’s Electronic City. He also arranged for funds through counterfeit currency networks. Investigators extracted emails and recorded that code words such as “Wedding Project” for planting bombs, “Wedding Hall” for the Consulate, and “Spice contents” for explosives were used in conversations with associates.

The Chennai conduit in this chain was Noorudeen. Counterfeit suppliers from West Bengal delivered ₹6.5 lakh in fake notes to him in the city. On May 1, 2014, Noorudeen handed over ₹2.75 lakh of this amount to two men, who were caught red-handed with these notes near Panagal Park, T Nagar.Investigators also traced the funding for this transaction and found that deposits were made through Axis Bank. Three original pay-in slips from these deposits were seized and sent to the Tamil Nadu forensic science department, which confirmed that the handwriting on the questioned slips matched admitted writings of Mohamed Saleem, one of the men caught at Panagal Park.The NIA court held that these findings established how Saleem deposited money under Noorudeen’s instructions to fund counterfeit procurement from Malda. On this basis, the court concluded that Noorudeen played a critical role in sourcing the notes and enabling their circulation in Chennai as part of the larger conspiracy.Noorudeen was convicted under Sections 120B and 489B of the IPC and Sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. He was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of five years each under three counts, the terms running concurrently, and fined Rs 1,000.