Fake US dollars seized

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested two men carrying $2.3 billion in fake US federal reserve notes, NBI Director Federico Opinion said yesterday.

The suspects identified as Rafael Poblete, a businessman, and Manuel Maga, an engineer, were arrested by NBI agents Wednesday.

According to an informer, Poblete and Maga were to trade the notes with other members of a counterfeit syndicate, but only the two men showed up at a bakeshop in Makati, Opinion said.

Poblete denied involvement in the syndicate and said the notes belonged to a Japanese business client who left them with him during a previous meeting.

Opinion said US Secret Service officers at the US Embassy confirmed the notes were fake. He gave no other details of the arrest.

The two men will be charged with forgery.

In January, police and central bank agents arrested three Filipinos and seized more than $60 billion in fake US bills, treasury notes and bonds in raids in Cagayan de Oro.

Police said the certificates, notes and bills were of good quality but were found to be fake by central bank experts. The fake certificates and bills were apparently being smuggled out of the southern Philippines for sale in undetermined foreign countries, he said.

A month earlier, police and US Secret Service agents seized more than $50 billion in fake US dollars and treasury notes in a raid in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.