LARKANA, July 29 Police succeeded in unearthing and busting a gang involved in preparing and circulating counterfeit currency notes of different denominations and prize bonds, said District Police Officer Irfan Baloch on Wednesday.

Talking to journalists, Mr Baloch said that the gang's network was stretched from Peshawar to Karachi and Lahore. Two members of the gang Jawed alias Shahban Hakro of Qambar and Amir Bakhsh Buriro of Thull had been arrested and Zaffar alias Muzaffar Sohryani of Kandhkot was still at large, he said.

“We had an informer strike deal with the gang. As they were settling the deal police caught them red handed near Zulfikar Bagh and found on them notes of Rs5,000, Rs1,000 and Rs500 along with a prize bond valuing at Rs50,000,” he said.

The notes looked so real “you can not tell the fake from the real ones,” said the DPO, adding, that it had come to for the first time that fake prize bonds were also being prepared and sold.

Initial interrogations revealed that Zaffar alias Muzaffar Sohryani was key character behind this racket who had different dyes with him used in preparing, stamping and circulating the counterfeit money and prize bonds, he said.

A prize bond No.C689485 valuing Rs50,000 carried stamp of officer in-charge of the National Saving Centre, Tariq Road Karachi and showed date of issuance as Oct 8, 2008.

The DPO said that the gang had links with people based in Peshwar, Lahore and Karachi who were also engaged in this trade. The CIA police were after him, he said.

A case had been lodged against the gang at Haidri police station.

The DPO said that police had also busted another gang allegedly led by an army deserter Qalandar Bakhsh alias Foji Jhandail who used to extort money from their targets.

Riaz Hussain Shaikh, Ghulam Mustafa Totani, Abdul Rasheed Chandio and Naseem Haidar Qadri were the members of the gang police had laid their hands on, he said.

He said that the gang had been involved in extortion for two months. A few days ago, Naseem Haidar Qadri demanded Rs250,000 from the owner of Master Autos on phone and threatened to kidnap his children if he failed to meet the demand, he said.

The owner Saleem Shaikh informed police about the threat and since then police were after the gang, the DPO said.

In the meantime, the extortionists hijacked a vehicle loaded with 87 cartons of motor oil valued at Rs600,000, which was owned by Saleem and then police contacted Riaz Hussain Shaikh, a gang member, and asked Saleem to pretend to strike a deal with him, he said. Mr Baloch said that police had already deployed undercover cops near the place of their meeting and as soon as Riaz arrived there to receive the money from Saleem policemen caught hold of him.

Riaz disclosed names of his gang members during interrogation and they were later picked up, the DPO said.

A case against this gang had been lodged at Taluka police station. Ali Akbar Gopang and Ayoub Khoso, accomplices of the extortionists, were still at large, the DPO said.

All six alleged extortionists were produced before journalists where owner of the autos store recognised Naseem Haidar Qadri as their old employee whom they had removed from job some time ago.

Further investigations were under way to arrest the rest of the gang members, the DPO said.