US$5M worth of fake dollar bills seized

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — Bundles of counterfeit US dollar bills were seized and two people were arrested by the authorities in an entrapment operation at a mall in this city, Monday afternoon.

Police identified the suspects as 31-year-old Erwin Sicano of Hacienda Gloria in Barangay Sta. Rosa and Frelie Toledano, 31, of Purok Orchids in Barangay San Miguel, both in Murcia town, Negros Occidental.

They were allegedly operating in Bacolod and Murcia town, while getting their supply from Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental.

Superintendent Levy Pangue, head of the Investigation and Detective Management Unit of the Bacolod City Police Office, said the suspects were arrested after they handed some bundles of bogus bills to a police poseur-buyer in exchange for the P19,000 (marked money). They were selling the bundle at P5,000 each. 

The suspects yielded five bundles of fake bills, each containing 100 pieces of $10,000 bills and one $100,000 during the arrest, he said, adding that the recovery has an estimated value of $5 million.

Before the entrapment, Pangue said the police already made contact with the suspects for a “test buy” last Friday. The suspects in turn bought with them the counterfeit $100,000 bill they sold for P500.

The Central Bank later verified the bill as counterfeit, added Pangue.  (FREEMAN)