Foreigners nabbed with $5b counterfeit notes

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Police disclosed here on Thursday that they had detained two foreigners from Senegal and Malawi, who allegedly stored materials to produce some US$5 billion in counterfeit dollar notes in their possession.

The police are still pursuing two other suspects in the case, both Nigerians, one of whom is believed to be the Asia-Pacific ring leader for the distribution of the counterfeit money.

Bali Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Yatim Suyatmo confirmed the arrest, stating that the suspects were nabbed in two separate raids at Hotel Artawan in Bali's prime tourism area of Kuta.

Jullio, who holds a Senegalese passport, was nabbed on Jan. 8 in hotel room 203, while Barnet O'Brien, who holds a Malawian passport, was arrested on Jan. 9 in room 206.

Police officers seized three suitcases of materials for producing the dollar bills and several documents from Julio's and O'Brien's rooms.

"Yet, both of them persistently denied that the suitcases belonged to them. Jullio accused O'Brien of making him the scapegoat, and vice versa. They almost physically assaulted each other in the interrogation room," a police detective said.

The officers found two suitcases full of neatly-stacked black- colored 100 dollar bills. Meanwhile, inside the second suitcase, the officers found several plastic containers of various liquid substances.

"We also found step-by-step instructions on how to mix the various liquid substances to make the fake dollar notes," the detective said.

The detective said the counterfeit notes were of such high quality that they were able to elude the detection of the portable ultra-violet money detectors commonly used at various money changers and financial establishments in Bali.

The arrests were made possible after police officers followed the lead in a fraud case, which linked the suspects with a Dutch entrepreneur named Antonio.

The Bali Police have deployed a special task force from its intelligence division to track down the other two suspects, who are still at large.

"Both are very smart and slick guys. They never stay more than one day at one place or hotel, hence it is very difficult to locate them," the detective said.