Ahmedabad: In a significant breakthrough, the Gujarat Special Operations Group (SOG) today busted a racket involved in printing fake Australian currency notes, which was set up by an Australian citizen and his accomplices in a bid to clear personal debts. This operation marks the first such case in the city and led to the arrest of four individuals.

The counterfeit operation began when an Australian citizen downloaded an image of a $50 Australian note from the internet. Using a specialized printing machine and software, he and his accomplices began printing fake Australian dollars in a warehouse located in Platinum Estate, Vatva, Ahmedabad. The SOG seized over seven mobile phones, cash, and counterfeit currency notes, including a large stash of fake Australian dollars. A total of 151 fake Australian dollar notes and 18 sheets of fake currency, all of which were ready to be circulated in the market, were seized. The four accused individuals—Ronak Rathore, Khush Patel, Maulik Patel, and Dhruv Desai—are now in police custody as further investigations continue.

The police were alerted when information surfaced about Ronak Rathore, an Australian citizen, attempting to sell the counterfeit currency. Acting on a tip-off, the SOG detained Rathore, and through interrogation, discovered that the fake notes had been supplied to him by one Khush Patel. Further investigation revealed that Patel had received the fake currency from Maulik Patel, who was responsible for orchestrating the scam. The police then conducted a raid at the Platinum Estate godown, where they seized a range of items including counterfeit dollar sheets, computers, laptops, mobiles, pen drives, and printing materials. The police have arrested all four accused and launched further investigations into the matter. DeshGujarat