Hyderabad: Police in Hyderabad seized counterfeit currency amounting to over Rs 17 crore and arrested seven people in connection with running a fake gemstone business on Wednesday. Police also seized over Rs 6 lakh cash, a car and around 10 mobile phones from their possession.
According to police, Bellamkonda Murali Krishna, a resident of Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district, was running a business of counterfeit currency and fake gems in Hyderabad. Earlier in the month, Krishna had lodged an FIR claiming that his partners robbed his home and stole gemstones and cash. He also filed a complaint of cheating against his partners.
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Launching a manhunt, police arrested the accused and recovered cash worth Rs 6,32,000. Police also seized fake currency worth Rs 17.75 crore from their possession. During the investigation, it was revealed that Krishna, who is an astrologer, was running a website to sell fake gemstones and also trading in counterfeit currency with high profile people. He also used to cheat people by giving fake Rs 2000 notes to his customers.
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Chanduluri Nagendra Prasad, who is Krishna's relative, along with Velpuri Pavan Kumar, Dondapati Ramakrishna, Nallabothula Suresh Gopi, Chanduluri Vijay Kumar and Kambhampati Suryam was also involved in his business. Chanduluri Nagendra Prasad and Velpuri Pavan Kumar planned a robbery and on June 15 along with other partners committed the theft at Krishna's house. The partners, believing to have stolen gems, found fake currency inside two bags.
