New Delhi: More than a decade after he fled the country, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested a key accused in the 2013 Kasaragod fake currency racket following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates.

Moideenabha Ummer Beary, alias Moideen, who had been on the run since 2013, was apprehended by an NIA team upon his arrival at Mumbai airport from Dubai. He was immediately taken to Kochi and produced before the NIA Special Court.

Moideen, a native of Udupi district in Karnataka, is accused in four fake Indian currency note cases registered by the NIA. The cases were registered following the recovery of high-quality counterfeit notes with a face value of ₹31 lakh from multiple locations in Kasaragod district in 2013. Three cases were originally registered at Chandera police station and one at Hosdurg station in August 2012 invoking multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 489(B), 489(C), 420, 201, 120(B), and 109 r/w 34. The NIA took over the investigation in 2013.

After the seizure of the notes, NIA had secured the revocation of Moideen’s Indian passport and obtained an Interpol Red Notice against him the same year. In 2015, he was tracked down and arrested by UAE authorities, prompting the NIA to initiate an extradition request. After nearly a decade in UAE custody, Moideen was extradited to India on June 19, 2025.

According to NIA investigations, Moideen had conspired with co-accused to source the counterfeit notes from the UAE. The fake currency was smuggled into India via flight by another accused, Usman, through Bengaluru, and later circulated in and around Kasaragod.

The NIA has so far chargesheeted six individuals, including Moideen, in connection with the racket under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The agency described the arrest as a significant breakthrough in its long-standing efforts to dismantle cross-border fake currency networks.