The Saharanpur police have busted a high-tech illegal minting unit in the Titron police station area, unearthing an international counterfeit currency ring with operational links extending to Nepal and Thailand. Operating under the guise of an industrial workshop, the facility allegedly produced between 10,000 and 12,000 counterfeit Rs 20 coins each day. Law enforcement officials seized six automated machines, 6,400 finished coins valued at Rs 1.28 lakh, unfinished coins estimated at Rs 5 lakh, and an extensive array of minting apparatus, while arresting several key suspects including the alleged mastermind behind the interstate racket.
Industrial Machinery and Precision Equipment Seized
The raid exposed a sophisticated manufacturing infrastructure equipped for large-scale minting and finishing operations. Investigating teams recovered 59 metal dies, comprising 39 blank units and 20 stamped with official currency markings. The inventory of seized equipment included an automated die-polishing machine, specialized grinding stones, an industrial oven, an electronic weighing scale, heavy hammers, precision files, wrenches, and saws. Officials noted that the technical setup enabled the syndicate to replicate currency contours with sufficient precision to evade immediate detection during standard retail exchanges.
Investigators identified the alleged kingpin as Upkar Luthra, alias Abhay Pratap Singh, a Punjab native who has reportedly engaged in illicit coin manufacturing since 2001. Drawing on his early background as a professional goldsmith, Luthra mastered metal casting and die-cutting techniques before launching illicit coin operations. In 2017, the Delhi Police Special Cell announced a bounty of Rs 1 lakh for his capture, leading to his subsequent arrest in Kondli, Haryana, where his cross-border links with Nepal and Thailand first surfaced. While later serving time in prison, Luthra formed an alliance with fellow inmate Himanshu, a Saharanpur resident. Following their release, the pair partnered to construct a distribution network across western Uttar Pradesh and founded the Titron production facility.
Supply Chain Exploited High-Cash Commercial Points
The operational economics of the illicit enterprise revealed wide profit margins designed to incentivize local distribution agents. Police calculations indicate that the syndicate incurred a production cost of Rs 5 to Rs 6 for each counterfeit Rs 20 coin. The finished products were subsequently offloaded to regional distribution agents at rates between Rs 12 and Rs 15 per coin. These intermediaries systematically injected the fake currency into local economies by targeting commercial hubs characterized by rapid, high-volume cash transactions, including state-run liquor vends, highway toll plazas, and crowded wholesale grocery markets.
During initial interrogations, the arrested operatives claimed that the wider network had already pumped counterfeit coins with an aggregate face value exceeding Rs 70 crore into circulation across regional markets. Investigating officers are scrutinizing that figure against seized documentation and forensic evidence. Forensic teams are currently analyzing data extracted from eight mobile handsets and seven detailed financial ledger books seized from the premises to map the transaction histories and establish the identities of secondary distributors.
Interstate Distribution Network Under Scrutiny
Preliminary findings indicate that the distribution footprint reaches well beyond western Uttar Pradesh into multiple regional territories. Documented links have emerged connecting the Saharanpur unit to consignees in Madhubani district of Bihar, as well as Bhadohi and Budaun districts in Uttar Pradesh. Specialized police teams are now charting the broader logistical chain to determine raw material procurement sources, identify downstream dispatch routes, and apprehend the local handlers responsible for final market dissemination.
Senior police officials stated that legal action in the case will extend beyond currency seizures and immediate custodial interrogations. Law enforcement agencies have begun tracing commercial and residential assets accumulated by the syndicate through illegal earnings. State authorities are preparing documentation to execute attachment proceedings against these properties under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act, pending the final findings of the financial inquiry.
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