P27 million in alleged fake dollar bills seized, suspect nabbed in Makati

P27 million in supposedly fake US dollar bills were seized from a man who was arrested after he attempted to exchange some of them for money in Makati City, the police said Tuesday.

In a statement, the Southern Police District (SPD) said the 60-year-old suspect, whom the police did not name, tried to exchange fake US dollar bills at a foreign exchange broker in Legaspi Village at 11:45 a.m. on Monday.

The suspect earlier visited a local bank to exchange the counterfeit bills, but due to the large amount involved, the bank referred the suspect to the forex broker, the SPD said.

At the exchange office, the cashier suspected the money to be fake and promptly informed the management, which led to the arrest of the suspect, it added.

The police recovered a large quantity of fake US one hundred-dollar bills, packaged in bundles, with a total equivalent value of P27 million.

A metal box containing more counterfeit bills was also recovered.

SPD chief Police Brigadier General Kirby Kraft  advised the public to be vigilant about fake money bills after the incident. — BM, GMA Integrated News