Minors being used to spread fake bills, cops say

CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Laguna—A police official warned the public against money counterfeit syndicates that use minors to allow the entry of fake
bills into the market.

Senior Inspector Mederic Villarete, police chief of Nagcarlan, Laguna, said minors appear less suspicious hence could get away more easily if they pay using fake bills. He said the syndicates’ modus operandi was to use the fake money in public markets in the provinces.

Villarete said they found this out after policemen on Saturday arrested a
15-year-old high school student who tried duping a vendor at the Nagcarlan public market with fake P500 and P200 bills. The vendor, who was convinced the bills were fake because their color was “pale,” sought the assistance of the market inspector and the police stationed nearby.

Villarete said the student was arrested but his two other companions, both also minors, had escaped. He said the suspects are residents of Taguig City but claimed they were in Laguna for a vacation.

Last week, the police in Atimonan town in Quezon, also held two persons with at least 42 pieces of fake P1,000 bills.