The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested a four-man gang involved in the circulation of counterfeit currency notes. The crackdown is a part of efforts by the law enforcing authorities to tackle crime, maintain security and combat activities that might destabilise the national economy, said a press release from the CID. The police had received a complaint from a prominent shopping centre that a client had bought a pre-paid Hala card using a fake currency note. The Economic Crime Investigation Unit at the CID formed a task force to solve the case. Based on the description of the suspect given by the worker, members of the task force succeeded in arresting him in a short time. The culprit admitted to being a part of a four-man gang, all of them Arabs, involved in circulating counterfeit notes of various denominations. He also told the sleuths that his accomplices, also of the same nationality, had smuggled a considerable amount of fake notes into the country from an Arab country. Later, the CID arrested the remaining gang members and a number of counterfeit banknotes were seized in the operation. The suspects told the police that they had managed to put into circulation a substantial number of counterfeit banknotes. The CID has urged shopkeepers to be alert and ensure that the banknotes paid by their customers are genuine. The country has witnessed several attempts by fraudsters to circulate fake Qatari currency notes, most of which have been foiled by the police. Several banks, exchange agencies and shopkeepers have introduced machines capable of detecting fake currency to tackle the menace, corporate sources here said. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=April2009&file=Local_News200904026593.xml

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