2 alleged con artists arrested

MANILA, Philippines -  Two men were arrested Monday for allegedly convincing people they could earn money by reproducing fake peso bills, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) officials said yesterday.

QCPD director Chief Superintendent George Regis said Albino Inot, 40, and Hector Nunez, 39, were caught in an entrapment operation at a hotel room in Cubao.

During yesterday’s press conference, QCPD deputy director for operations Senior Superintendent Ranier Idio said policemen from the District Police Intelligence Operations Unit (DPIOU) seized from the suspects three P50 bills with the same serial number, AP926250.

“They show these P50 bills to lure their prospective victims. It’s like when you invest P100,000 they promise they could triple it to P300,000,” Idio said.

QCPD-DPIOU head Superintendent Rodrigo Bauto said they also recovered several paper cutouts whose printing had yet to be finished.

There was also a bottle of ink supposedly used in producing fake money, he said. Senior Inspector Celso Destajo of the DPIOU’s Special Projects Unit said the ink causes itching when touched by a prospective victim, who then leaves behind their money to wash their hands. When the victims come back, the suspects would be gone with the victim’s money.

Another method, according to Destajo, used by the suspects is to show victims a box of paper cutouts soaked in ink and tell them it would take three days to complete the reproduction. The victim, upon paying the suspects, would be given the box for safekeeping and the suspects would set another meeting after three days. No meeting would happen.

The suspects denied involvement in any illegal activities. Inot even said the three P50 bills were his own money, but could not explain why the bills bore the same serial number.