Visakhapatnam, March 21 : The NIA special court in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam on Friday sentenced three men convicted in a fake currency case to rigorous imprisonment for seven years.

According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), accused Firoj Saikh, Tajamul Saikh and Enamul Haque have been sentenced seven years rigorous imprisonment in the 2018 case relating to seizure of fake Indian currency notes having a face value of Rs 10.20 lakh.

The seizure was made from two accused Md. Mahaboob Baig alias Azhar Baig and Syed Imran, who were travelling on the Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express. Their interrogation revealed the involvement of Firoj Saikh, Tajamul Saikh, and Enamul Haque.

The NIA investigations revealed all five accused to be involved in a large-scale racket of smuggling of counterfeit currency.

Mahaboob Baig and Syed Imran were convicted earlier, on June 26, 2019, and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment for their role in the conspiracy.

In its judgment on Friday against the other three, the NIA Special Court sentenced Firoz Saikh and Enamul Haque each to 7 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 489-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They will have to suffer an additional time of two and a half years in jail in case of default in fine payment.

Tajamul Saikh has also been awarded a similar sentence under Section 489-B IPC. In addition, he has also been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 (with an additional prison term of 2 years in case of default in fine payment ) under Section 120-B IPC. He has also been convicted under Sections 201 and 204 of IPC and has been sentenced to two years imprisonment with Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 fine respectively. He will have to undergo an additional jail term of six months in case of default in fine payment. All these sentences will run concurrently.

/IANS