MANILA: Authorities have seized at least P2.7-million worth of fake peso and US dollar bills after it raided a printing press, leading to the arrest of three individuals in Cagayan de Oro City.
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas swooped down on VMAR printing press in Barangay (village) Nazareth and caught its staff printing and cutting counterfeit US and Philippine Peso banknotes on Friday.
Senior Superintendent Alexander Tagum, regional chief of CIDG Northern Mindanao, identified them as Vincent Cabiladas, 37, Amiel Nayve, 40, and Rex Padere, 38. All were residents of different villages in Cagayan de Oro City.
In a report to the CIDG headquarters, Tagum said operatives also found packs of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and drug paraphernalia in their possession.
He said the operation was by virtue of search warrant issued by Judge Gil Bollozos of Cagayan de Oro City regional trial court Branch 20 dated June 4, 2015.
Confiscated pieces of evidence were the following:
US Currency banknotes
* Eighty-two pieces of $500 with various serial numbers (P1,845,000)
* Twenty sheets of $500-uncut notes (P450,000)
* Seventy pieces of $100 with various serial numbers (P315,000)
* Forty-one pieces of $20 with various serial numbers (P36,900)
* One sheet of $20-uncut notes (P900)
* Forty-five pieces of $10 with various serial numbers (P20,250)
* Forty-five pieces of $5 with various serial numbers (P10,125)
* Eighty pieces of $2 with various serial numbers (P7,200)
* Thirty-eight pieces of $1 with various serial numbers (P1,710)
Philippine Currency banknotes
* Fifty-three sheets of P1,000-uncut notes with various serial numbers (P53,000)
* Twenty-five sheets of P200-uncut noteswith various serial numbers (P5,000)
* Twenty-three sheets of P100-uncut notes with various serial numbers (P2,300)
Police also confiscated 13 pieces of sachet containing suspected shabu, tooters, lighters, aluminum foils personal computers, printers and ink cartridges,
The arrested suspects will face charges of violation of articles 166, 168 and 176 of the Revised Penal Code for forging bank notes and possessing counterfeit currency.
They are now detained at the Cagayan de Oro Criminal Investigation and Detection Team’s office while cases are being filed against them.
