Bengaluru cops uncover Rs 71 crore Turkish currency racket in city

The accused had lured a businessman to buy 78 notes of Lira each with a face value of 5 lakh He approached the police and they laid a trap to arrest the four accused with the notes Nagaraju a police constable attached to Chitradurga Kote police station is among the arrested

After a well-planned trap and a good chase, the Bengaluru police arrested four - including a police constable and a government school teacher - while trying to exchange demonetised Turkish currency, Lira, on Wednesday. The police have seized 78 notes each with a face value of 5 lakh Lira which is equal to 70.25 crore in Indian currency from the accused. Turkey has banned the Lira currency with a face value of 5 lakh and this could be exchanged until December 31, 2019.

The arrested are constable Nagaraju (40), Chitradurga government school teacher Shivaraj (50), film producer Murali (40) and real estate businessman Aravind Prasad (40). However, the prime accused Channakeshava Reddy is absconding, reports Kannada Prabha.

Accused constable Nagaraju frequently called Shakeer, an entrepreneur from Marathalli, luring him to buy Lira currency to become a quick crorepati. Shakeer consulted his friend Chella Samuel who cautioned him before striking any deal. The duo asked Nagaraj and other accused to come with the currency to Bengaluru on June 20 where the duo met the four near Maratahalli bridge. The accused proposed to give 78 Lira currency each with a face value of 5 lakh for just Rs 27 lakh! Suspecting fishy, the duo decided to buy some time and approached Marathahalli police. The police along with the duo laid the trap and asked the accused to meet them again in the night at Innovative Multiplex around 8.30 pm.

According to the police, the duo went with an empty suitcase in the guise of giving Rs 27 lakh (as decided) and the police surrounded them when the accused came to hand over the Turkish currency. At this time, Nagaraju tried to escape by drawing out his pistol and threatened to shoot at constable Thimmapparaju. However, he was overpowered by other policemen and arrested. However, the prime accused Channakeshava Reddy escaped.

According to the police, Nagaraju told them that it was Channakeshava Reddy who had planned the whole deal. Reddy was arrested with 96 Turkey currency (equal to Rs 87.69 crore) in Hiriyur in October, 2016. And Nagaraju had helped him secure bail and this developed a bond between them. Nagaraju decided to gang up with Reddy to make some quick money.

It is said that Nagaraju had a licensed pistol with ten rounds of live bullets which were issued to him while he was in SP squad in Chitrdurga. Although, Nagaraju was later transferred to Chitradurga Kote police station, he had not surrendered the pistol. He had threatened to shoot constable Thimmappa with the same pistol. The police have now seized the pistol, too.