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Police seize Rp 600m worth of counterfeit new banknotes
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Uncovered: Semarang Police chief Sr. Comr. Abiyoso Seno Aji (second left) shows fake money confiscated during a raid in Semarang, Central Java, on April 20. (Antara/R.Rekotomo)
S
emarang Police in Central Java arrested an alleged counterfeiter of the Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000 denominations of the new banknotes following reports from local people.
Semarang Police chief Sr.Comr. Abiyoso Seno Aji said the alleged forger, identified only with by his initials, WH, was 50 years old and a resident of Semarang. During his arrest, the police confiscated Rp 600 million (US$45,055) worth of fake banknotes that were apparently ready to be distributed.
“The [alleged] perpetrator was a former convict charged with fake money distribution and sentenced by the court in a trial in 2007,” said Abiyoso as quoted by Antara on Thursday.
Abiyoso said some pieces of equipment such as a laptop, a printer and silk-screening tools were confiscated from a rented house on Jl. Pedurungan, Semarang. He claimed the silk-screening tools were used to make raw layers and safety ribbons for the banknotes. After the copying was completed, the money was printed on HVS papers and banknote masters.
Rp 20 million worth fake banknotes could be produced in a single print run, Abiyoso said. A second person was needed as a courier to help distribute the fake money. Two other men and a woman were also taken into custody.
The banknotes were circulated by using them to buy things from street vendors. “The vendors then gave change in real money,” said Abiyoso, who added that the Rp 5 million of the counterfeit money was also sometimes directly exchanged for Rp 1.2 million in real banknotes. (mrc/ebf)
