‘Not all that glitters is gold’ warning by cops becomes painful lesson for trader who lost P5M to swindlers

PADADA, Davao del Sur — Not all that glitters is gold.

Police had given this warning to residents as swindlers went around town selling gold bars that would turn out to be fake.

A businessman from Quezon City learned the painful lesson after losing P5 million in a transaction with the swindlers last Feb. 15.

Although three suspects had been arrested, police said they were on the lookout for other suspects who could still be in the province.

Capt. Arnold Absin, Padada police chief, said the Quezon City businessman, Raymund Retino Dua, 56, met the three suspects who offered to facilitate his purchase of a gold bar.

Sweet-talked, Dua agreed to meet Jaime Monteron Bedrijo, his live-in partner Jeanette Opao Padilla, and Kurt Benedict Nazareno who introduced himself as a Cebu-based businessman, at a convenience store along the national highway at the village of NCO to seal the deal.

Dua told police that a certain Juanito Ranza, also known as Dodong, arrived on board a motorcycle with an unidentified companion.

According to Dua, Nazareno received the alleged gold bar and handed it over to him. It was also Nazareno who gave the cash to Ranza.

After receiving the money, Ranza and his companion immediately left, Dua recalled.

When he examined the supposed gold bar, it was found to be fake, prompting him to ask for police help.

Bedrijo, Padilla, and Nazareno were taken into custody by police and charged with fraud while operatives are hunting down Ranza.

Edited by TSB