₹70 Crore in Fake ₹20 Coins in Circulation: How UP Gang Built a Counterfeit Coin Network
A major counterfeit currency racket involving fake ₹20 coins has been busted in Uttar Pradesh, with police estimating that the gang may have pushed counterfeit coins worth nearly ₹70 crore into circulation across several states.
The racket came to light in Saharanpur, where police arrested five alleged members of the syndicate in the Titron area on Sunday. The accused were allegedly transporting machinery to establish another counterfeit coin-making unit in the district.
Police said the network operated across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar. Investigators believe the gang had developed a structured system in which different members handled manufacturing, machinery, supply and the eventual circulation of the fake coins.
The operation was not limited to producing counterfeit coins. According to police, the gang relied on liquor shops, toll plazas and grocery stores to introduce the fake ₹20 coins into everyday transactions. Liquor outlets were reportedly one of its primary markets.
The alleged system worked through intermediaries. Finished counterfeit coins were supplied to agents, who then put them into circulation for a commission. Police said this arrangement helped separate the manufacturing operation from the people actually introducing the coins into the market.
The scale of the operation was significant. Police said the gang claimed its machinery could produce between 10,000 and 12,000 counterfeit coins every day.
Investigators also found that manufacturing the coins was relatively inexpensive compared with their face value. According to police, the accused said a fake ₹20 coin cost approximately ₹5–₹6 to manufacture and was then supplied to agents for around ₹12–₹15.
During the latest operation, police recovered 6,400 counterfeit ₹20 coins, having a face value of ₹1.28 lakh. They also seized semi-finished coins estimated at around ₹5 lakh and six coin-making machines.
The seizure included a substantial amount of manufacturing equipment, including iron dies, polishing and grinding equipment, hammers, an iron-cutting saw and an electronic weighing scale. Police also recovered eight mobile phones and seven account registers that could help investigators reconstruct the supply network.
The alleged mastermind has been identified as Upkar Luthra alias Abhay Pratap Singh, a man in his 50s who had previously worked as a goldsmith in Mohali, Punjab.
Police said Luthra had allegedly been involved in the counterfeit coin trade since 2001. He was also arrested by Delhi Police in 2017 after a reward had been announced for information leading to his capture, according to the investigation cited by The Indian Express.
Investigators believe the network evolved through contacts made in prison. Police said Luthra met Himanshu alias Gullu in Tihar Jail, and that relationship allegedly became the foundation for the wider counterfeit coin operation. Other accused members were allegedly brought into the network through contacts formed during separate periods of incarceration.
The gang had reportedly operated a manufacturing facility in Haryana before planning to establish another unit in Saharanpur. Police are now investigating where the seized machinery was purchased and where the accused intended to install the new production setup.
The ₹70-crore figure is an estimated value of counterfeit coins allegedly circulated by the accused, rather than the value of coins recovered during the raid. Police have so far physically recovered counterfeit coins worth only a fraction of that amount.
The investigation is therefore focused on determining how many counterfeit coins were actually manufactured, how many entered the market and how far the distribution network extended.
The arrests also come amid another major counterfeit-currency investigation in Saharanpur. Days earlier, counterfeit currency worth ₹17.29 crore was reportedly recovered from the currency chest of a nationalised bank in the district. That case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency, which has made one arrest so far.
The latest coin racket highlights a different challenge from counterfeit notes: coins typically move through countless small-value cash transactions, making individual fake pieces harder to trace once they enter circulation.
For investigators, the crucial task now is to identify the agents who allegedly distributed the coins, map the businesses through which they were introduced into the market and establish the full geographical reach of the network.
Police are continuing to examine the seized phones, account registers, machinery and other documents as they try to determine the duration of the operation and the actual volume of counterfeit ₹20 coins that may still be circulating.
