Patna (PTI): Two men have been sentenced to seven years imprisonment by an NIA court here for being part of a fake Indian currency notes syndicate involving Nepali and Bangladeshi citizens, the agency said on Wednesday.

According to an NIA statement, the case relates to the seizure of fake currency notes having a face value of Rs 1,90,500 in denominations of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500, from Md Mumtaz at Sarkari Bus Stand in Bihar's Purnea on December 3, 2019.

The special court on Tuesday sentenced two accused to imprisonment and fine in the currency notes smuggling case involving Bangladeshi and Nepalese nationals, said the statement issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Mumtaz and Md Baitullah, both hailing from Bihar, have been awarded seven years imprisonment with fine of Rs 8,000, it said.

The NIA established the role of a total of six accused in the case. It found that Mumtaz, along with Baitullah, Golam Mortaza alias Citu, Sadek Mia, Biltu Mahto of Nepal and Md Munshi of Bangladesh, had conspired to procure and smuggle the fake notes from Bangladesh to India with the aim to destabilise India's economy, the statement said.

The NIA had, through different charge sheets, filed charges against all the six accused between May 2020 and July 2021. While Mortaza died in judicial custody during the trial, Mahto and Munshi were declared absconders in the case, it added.

According to NIA's investigations, the currency was collected by the accused from Mortaza and handed over to Mumtaz for further delivery.

Mumtaz was working under orders from Mahto. Mortaza used to collect the fake note consignments from Munshi, while Sadek Mia was an associate of Munshi, the probe agency said.