Pol, ranking cops involved in fake treasury bills?

ANGELES CITY — The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Central Luzon is looking into reports that a politician and some senior police officers were connected to the fake US federal treasury bills seized from a house at Villa Sol Subdivision here last week.

"The fake treasury bills have been returned to us by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for our use as evidence against the suspects," said Senior Superintendent Cristopher Laxa, CDIG regional chief.

The BSP has declared the treasury bills, each with a denomination of $250 million, to be counterfeit.

The treasury bills, some mounted in frames and the rest in six sealed metal boxes with the markings "Seal of Federal Reserve, United States of America," were seized from the house of Demetrio Garcia who, along with four companions, was arrested.

Also nabbed were Sonny Catolico, 41; Eduardo Bacal, 54; Rolando David, 52; and Lorenzo Martin, 58. Lawyers are still studying what charges will be filed against them.

Investigation showed that Garcia’s group also had connections in London, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

SPO4 Regino Raquipizo, CIDG chief investigator, said an aide of a politician arrived in Garcia’s house during the raid, apparently to intervene.

He said an identification card of a ranking police officer was also found at Garcia’s residence. He declined to identify the politician and the police officer pending further investigation.

Earlier, sources said the CIDG raiding team also found a logbook supposedly containing the names of at least two senior police officers. Beside their names was written the figure of P150,000.

The CIDG was tipped off by an American who discovered that the treasury bills he bought from Garcia’s group were bogus. — With Ric Sapnu