Five African men arrested for scam<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police detectives have arrested five African men
\nfor attempting to cheat a Bekasi businessman by claiming they
\ncould duplicate U.S. dollar notes with a black box.<\/p>\n
City Police detectives chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo told
\nreporters on Saturday that the five, four Liberians and one
\nCameroon national, were arrested on Thursday night at a hotel in
\nthe Ancol amusement park in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Police seized the box but failed to find any counterfeit notes
\non the men, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We're still interrogating them. The suspects might have
\ncommitted the scam on other victims,\" the officer said.<\/p>\n
The five are identified as George Toe, Asiq Qai, Maghang
\nZaharim, Alexander, and Fidel, all aged between 30 and 34.<\/p>\n
According Alex, the arrests were made based on information
\ngiven by the officer's friend Basili, 40, a Bekasi businessman.
\nThe officer said the two had been close friends for years, since
\nAlex was chief of Bekasi Police.<\/p>\n
Basili, owner of a paper production company in Bekasi, told
\nAlex he met the five men in the hotel lobby, where they proposed
\na business deal to him. Alex said the deal involved the
\nduplication of U.S. dollar notes.<\/p>\n
\"The suspects offered the victim a chance to take part in the
\nbusiness,\" the officer recalled.<\/p>\n
The men allegedly asked Basili to provide US$1,500 in cash so
\nthey could conduct their scheme.<\/p>\n
Basili followed the men to their room on the fifth floor of
\nthe hotel, where he was shown a black box, Alex said.<\/p>\n
\"For the first try, you just provide $1,500 and we'll double
\nthe value of your money,\" Alex quoted one of the suspects as
\ntelling Basili.<\/p>\n
The businessman, who was by then suspicious of the deal,
\npromised the men he would provide the money, Alex said.<\/p>\n
\"Instead of fulfilling the demand, the businessman, who has
\nknown me for quite a long time, then contacted me,\" Alex said.<\/p>\n
The detectives chief then deployed a number of his men to
\narrest the suspects.<\/p>\n
Alex did not reveal if the police had examined the black box
\nto see if it could actually duplicate the notes.<\/p>\n
The five suspects, some of them in tears, denied the police
\naccusations on Saturday, saying they were not guilty and had been
\nwrongfully arrested, Alex said.<\/p>\n
They insisted they had simply offered Basili a business deal.<\/p>\n
They did not elaborate on what kind of business they had in
\nmind. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/five-african-men-arrested-for-scam-1447893297",
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