Police Arrests ex-Civil Servant for Circulating Fake Currency

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - The Surabaya city police in East Java has arrested a former civil servant on charges of possessing and circulating hundreds of counterfeit Rp100 thousand banknotes. The police made the arrest after it received information about the circulation of counterfeit currency, spokesman of the city police Commissioner Suparti stated here on Friday. "The police fielded a team of officers to check the report," she added. The police personnel searched several places and arrested the suspect, identified by initials Stk, while he was having a meal at a food stall in Simpang area, she reported. "We are still investigating the case. We do not rule out the possibility of an increase in the number of suspects," she pointed out. During the search, the police seized hundreds of counterfeit Rp100 thousand banknotes from the suspect, who is believed to have used the fake currency to make transactions with other people, she remarked. One of the police officers pretended to be a buyer before they made the arrest. When the police arrested him he could not do much, she stated. "He put the fake currency in his bag. The police later escorted him to his residence in Blitar, where they recovered other fake banknotes," she noted. During the investigation, the suspect claimed he had no knowledge of the origin of the fake currency and also who made it. (*)