UP’s ‘Mobile Mints’: Inside the 2026 Fake Currency Crackdown

Townhall Times, New Delhi

Reporter: Bhavika Kalra

By: Regional Crime Desk | Tuesday, February 24, 2026

While the rest of the country is busy with UPI and digital gold, a specialized wing of the UP Police has been chasing a ghost—a “factory on wheels” that has been flooding local markets with high-quality fake ₹500 notes.

The arrests of three key operatives today have finally exposed the “Scientific” method behind the madness.

1. The ‘Pathologist’ Mastermind

In a surreal twist, the mastermind behind the most sophisticated local racket wasn’t a street thug. It was Nafees Ahmed, a trained pathologist known in the underworld as “Doctor.”

The operation: He treated counterfeiting like a science. He didn’t just print notes; he experimented with chemical baths to give the paper that specific “RBI crunch.”
The Mobile Lab: To stay ahead of surveillance, the gang was reportedly printing notes inside a moving SUV. They would park in secluded spots near highway dhabas, run their high-end lamination machines, and then move to the next district before the ink was dry.

2. The Shahjahanpur-Delhi Connection

Today’s deep-dive reveals that the three arrested—Ravi Arora, Vivek Maurya, and Rakesh Arora—weren’t just small-timers. They were an interstate bridge.

The Setup: While Vivek Maurya handled the high-detail printing in a rented room in Shahjahanpur, Rakesh Arora was the “distributor” working the crowded markets of Delhi and Noida.
The Materials: Police recovered specialized green tape (used to mimic the security ribbon), chemicals for embossing images, and even “bond paper” that closely mimics official currency stock.
The Haul: Over ₹3.24 lakh in fake notes were seized today alone.

[Image: A forensic close-up of a counterfeit ₹500 note, showing a crude green tape strip where the color-shifting security thread should be.]

3. The 2026 Profit Margin: Why They Risk It

Why risk a lifetime in jail for paper? The math is simple and brutal.

The Exchange: The gang sold fake notes to local middlemen at a 1:5 ratio.
The Deal: You give them ₹20,000 in “real” money, and they give you ₹1 lakh in “funny money.”
The Targets: They targeted weekly Haat (village markets) and small petrol pumps at night—places where vendors are too busy or too tired to check the watermark.

4. 2026 Security: How to Beat the Fakes

Feature	The Real Deal	The 2026 Fake Sign
Security Thread	Changes color (Green to Blue) when tilted.	Stitched green tape; no color shift; feels “thick.”
Raised Printing	The Ashoka Pillar and Gandhi feel “rough” (Intaglio).	Feels smooth, like a standard laser printout.
Latent Image	See “500” in the band when held at 45 degrees.	Band is flat; no hidden number appears.
Watermark	Sharp Gandhi face with “500” in the light.	Looks like it was drawn with a pencil; blurry.

The Status Right Now

As of tonight, the UP Special Task Force (STF) has widened the net. They are currently tracing a Hong Kong connection related to the high-quality security paper found in recent raids. The message from the Lucknow headquarters is clear: If the paper feels like a photocopy, it probably is.