Intelligence sources said these syndicates have integrated plans to accomplish their mission of circulating huge lots of counterfeit notes through their recruited agents during the Eid.
Fake note producers and traders have taken position in different district and upazila towns and even in remote border areas to fulfill their target dodging eyes of the law enforcers.
Usually, intelligence surveillance remains less in different district and upazila headquarters compared to the capital city Dhaka and other divisional cities. Taking this advantage, forged currency racketeers are set to launch their activities in different remote areas during Eid like previous years.
Abdur Rahman, a cloth trader in Bogura town, said, "At least one or two fake notes are to be found in the big shops. Fake currency circulators release the notes amidst huge crowd mingling those with bundles of big denominations.
Shop owners or general people face difficulties while they come to know that they have received one or two fake notes unmindfully from someone along with other original notes.
Sometimes, some gullible people, who have just come from rural areas, face high risk of police harassment as they do not have the idea how to identify forged notes.
They cannot understand the difference between the original notes and the fake ones. Not only that, if any poor person gets a fake note of Tk 500 or Tk 1,000 denomination, he or she has to suffer economic crisis in maintaining their households.
The intelligence sources further revealed that fake note traders are working in the field taking the advantage of the instability that prevails in the lives of the in low and middle-income groups of people due to sky-high prices of essential commodities.
Business insiders said identifying the fake notes by general people is very difficult as those are printed so carefully and perfectly that no one can identify those as fake notes.
Without fake note detector machine, it is not possible to identify the notes; that is why use and exchange of forged notes go up ahead of any special occasion, especially the two big festivals of the Muslims-- Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha.
Detective Branch of Police sources said at least 200 counterfeit note racketeers were arrested by police and Rapid Action Battalion from different parts of the northern region in the last few years.
But, most of them came out of jail receiving bail and staged comeback in the profession within a short period of time.
There is no visible instance of meting out exemplary punishment to any fake note circulator in the country. As a result, the trend is is continuing as usual.
Police sources said primarily, one lakh pieces of fake notes are sold between Tk20,000 and Tk25,000 from the producer level.
Then those are sold between Tk 30,000 and Tk 35,000 at the retailer or marginal level.
The Department of Counterfeit and Defunct Notes Prevention and Review Cell of the Bangladesh Bank has already issued special instructions saying that the activities of fake note traders increase abnormally during each Eid or any big festival.
At this time, the transaction of fake notes increases as the counterfeit note traders exploit the opportunity.
For this reason, law enforcement agencies should be alert. They should start action in advance to resist the fake note producers and traders.
Apart from this, the central bank has also issued a directive to every commercial bank for increasing awareness against the use of fake notes.
In the directive, all banks were asked to arrange display of video footages containing security features of original notes at every branch and important places in which people can remain alert about it.
The video footages must be displayed at the own initiative of the bank authorities for at least an hour after dusk in public places or different intersections during the holy month of Ramadan.
Abdur Rashid, additional superintendent of police (Addl. SP) in Bogura said, "We have beefed up surveillance to check circulation of fake notes in the important marketplaces. Our intelligence forces are working in this regard day and night."
Julhaz Uddin, officer-in-charge of DB police in Sirajganj, said, "Surveillance has been geared up in different mega shopping malls and markets in a bid to nab fake note traders. If we get any information, we will conduct drive instantly."
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