The police on Tuesday arrested the head of a gang involved in spreading counterfeit currency. An accomplice was also arrested.
Two transgender entertainers had filed a complaint alleging they were given Rs20,000 fake currency notes at a marriage ceremony in Khanewal.
The police set up check posts and inspected vehicles on the highway connecting Khanewal to Lahore near Kacha Khu.
Station House Officer Ashraf Gill told The Express Tribune that he saw two men on a motorbike trying to flee from a check post. He said the men tried to hide in a field adjacent to the highway.
A search was launched and they were caught. He said officials found a fake Rs1,000 note from one of the men. He was taken into police custody. The police found more fake currency notes, amounting to Rs130,000 in a satchel tied to the motorbike. The arrested men were identified as Samiullah Niazi and Majeed Niazi.
Gill said investigations revealed that Samiullah Niazi and Majeed Niazi had been invited as guests at a wedding. They had given thousands of rupees in Rs500 fake notes to dancers for their performance.
The dancers, Altaf and Saeed, were later told by Asid Niazi, a singer from Mianwali, that the money they had gotten was fake. The men had apparently given fake money amounting to Rs14,000 to the singer as well.
Altaf and Saeed then approached the police and cited Asif Niazi as a witness.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2013.