Monday, November 16, 2009

Two Burmese Refugees Arrested with Counterfeit Notes


By Takaloo, Cox’sbazar; Two Burmese Muslim refugees from Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar District in southern Bangladesh were arrested by local police on Wednesday for possessing counterfeit notes and equipment for forging local currency, said a refugee school teacher.

The teacher said that the accused were caught by police deployed for camp security after they caught a refugee child who came to buy snacks from a local shop with a fake 500 taka note.

“The police were able to arrest them on the tip of a local shopkeeper that a refugee child came to buy from his shop with a fake 500 taka note,” he said on the condition of anonymity to Narinjara.

He added that the counterfeiters were traced with the help of the refugee child and were identified as Abdu Salam, 38 years old, and Mohammad Rafique, 31 years old, both registered refugees from Kutupalong refugee camp.

The Ukia police station in Cox’s Bazaar District confirmed the arrest of those refugees who possessed 1,500 counterfeit 500 taka notes, three slates of black glass, three rolls of copy paper, three rolls of glass paper, one roll of silver ribbon, one roll of tape, scissors, and other equipment used for counterfeiting.

Shah Uddin, the police officer responsible for camp security said that the accused were expected to have used the faked notes for the coming Koraban, a religious festival in Islam tradition.

According to the teacher, the two men may have taken the risk with the notes because life inside the refugee camp has become increasingly difficult.

“Any refugee can risk their lives if their belly is not properly filled, because the UNCHR can not meet the daily needs of refugees sufficiently and Bangladesh authorities have restricted the movements of refugees going outside the camps to work for alternative incomes to feed their family,” he said.

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