Chandigarh, Oct. 4 -- In a major breakthrough against the circulation of fake currency, Chandigarh Police busted an inter-state syndicate operating across five states and recovered counterfeit currency with a face value of Rs.24.27 lakh.

According to police, 7,157 fake notes in denominations of Rs.500 and Rs.100 were seized, along with two vehicles, printers, inks, cutters, and security-thread embedded papers used in printing counterfeit notes.

Three men - Gaurav Kumar alias Ranjit, 34, of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, Vikram Meena alias Vicky, 35, of Sangrur, Punjab, and Jitendra Sharma, 42, of Rajasthan - have been arrested in the operation led by the crime branch.

Tip-off from central team

On September 25, a central agency had tipped-of...