Duo using fake cash nabbed in QC

A MAN who tried to make a purchase using a fake peso bill was arrested while his alleged source of the counterfeit cash was also tracked down in a follow-up operation by the Quezon City police on Thursday.

Unfortunately for Mohammad Makakina, the store where he tried to buy powdered milk with a fake P1,000 bill was owned by a policeman’s wife, who had an ultraviolet light scanner ready to detect such a racket.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) on Friday announced the arrest of the 30-year-old Makakina, a jobless resident of Rizal province; and his alleged source, 50-year-old Datun Ali of Barangay Commonwealth.

They both yielded fake notes in P1,000, P500 and P50 denominations totaling P32,000, according to Supt. Robert Sales, the QCPD-Batasan station commander.

Sales said a storeowner in Barangay Commonwealth detected the fake P1,000 bill handed by Makakina when he tried to buy milk around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

The storeowner, who used a UV scanner to check the bill, immediately reported it to her husband—a policeman also assigned to the QCPD—who arrested Makakina on the spot.

When questioned, Makakina pointed to Datun as his source. Datun was arrested later that day at his house on Kasunduan Street, also in Commonwealth, where the police found more fake money but no printing machine or any counterfeiting paraphernalia.

Datun, who said he earns a living selling vegetables, insisted on his innocence, claiming Makakina only entrusted him with a wad of cash for safekeeping, which he didn’t know were fake.

Both men remained detained Friday at QCPD-Batasan for swindling.