Three Men Arrested For Making $100,000 in Counterfeit Money

TANGERANG, KOMPAS.com - Police at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have disclosed more details about a three-man gang behind the circulation of counterfeit US$100,000 bills. Investigators uncovered their activities in early January. 

"One of the suspects, who was identified as 'R', said he received the fake cash from his accomplice 'A'," Soekarno-Hatta Police Precinct head Chief Commissioner Adi Ferdian said of the syndicate on Thursday, January 28.

"When we questioned him, the 4-year old 'R' admitted that 'A' gave him the counterfeit money in 10 bundles of 100 $100 bills. He then ordered 'A' and another accomplice, 'T', to circulate the fake bills to the public.

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“R then ordered the 36-year old 'A' to exchange all the US dollars into rupiah. A then gave the 'T' [54] an equivalent of $60,000 to distribution among the unsuspecting public." 

Adi's deputy, Police Commissioner Alexander Yurikho, reiterated him. "We were tipped off by somebody on December 28, 2020, after their suspicions were raised by an offer to exchange rupiah into US dollars at an unusually low exchange rate," he noted.

Alexander asserted that the police used this information to launch their investigation. "We arrested 'R', 'A' and 'T' on January 2, 5 and 7 respectively.  We charged them with violating Articles 244, 245 and 250 on exchanging and circulating counterfeit currency." 

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He added that the police carried out the arrests and confiscated the currency  before the gang can distribute the counterfeit bills among their victims. Alexander noted that the trio is only brought together by a number of shared interests. 

"'R' is an antiques dealer who specialized in collecting vintage currency, while 'A' is an outsourced teacher and 'T' is an itinerant laborer. The trio was brought together by their love of semi-precious gemstones."

Alexander noted that the three would have made a large profit from the counterfeit money. 

The police have yet to confirm how they counterfeited the US dollar banknotes. If found guilty, the trio face up to 15 years imprisonment.

(Writer: Muhammad Naufal | Editor: Sandro Gatra, Sabrina Asril)

Sources:

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/01/29/09563631/fakta-penangkapan-komplotan-pengedar-100000-dollar-as-palsu-berawal-dari 

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/01/28/20554521/curiga-harga-tukar-kurs-beda-jauh-polisi-tangkap-tiga-pengedar-dollar