Kollam: A probe into a man's disappearance led police to an alleged counterfeit currency printing unit at his house in Kollam, where they seized printing equipment and other materials linked to fake notes worth around Rs 2.5 crore, officials said on Saturday.

The police, along with the District Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force (DANSAF) team of Kollam City, searched the house of Sibion, a native of Kallelivayal in Vadi, and took him into custody.

According to police, the investigation began after Sibion's wife, Tincy, lodged a complaint at Pallithottam police station here on October 16, reporting that her husband was missing.

During the probe, police learnt that Sibion had allegedly been abducted from Asramam here and that his gold ornaments had been taken away, officials said.

Investigators found that a person named Adarsh had allegedly called him to a location.

Police registered a kidnapping case following the complaint. Sibion later returned on his own and informed the police about the incident, officials said.

Further questioning and an investigation into his financial dealings revealed suspected hawala transactions and other unauthorised activities, prompting police to raid his house on Friday night.

During the search, police seized a digital printer, bundles of paper cut to the size required for printing Rs 500 notes, a currency-counting machine and other materials allegedly used in the counterfeit currency operation. The seized materials were suspected to be linked to the production of fake notes with a face value of around Rs 2.5 crore, police said.

Police also recovered 43 sovereigns of gold ornaments from the premises.

Preliminary questioning indicated that Ravi, a native of Attingal, had supplied Sibion with the materials allegedly used to prepare counterfeit notes in exchange for Rs 30 lakh, an officer said.

Police suspect that more people were involved in the operation and are attempting to trace Ravi.

A detailed investigation is underway, police added.