Police arrest two men with fake banknotes

JAKARTA (JP): North Jakarta Police detectives arrested on Wednesday two men at a house on Jl. Kalibaru for possession of counterfeit money totaling Rp 5 million in new Rp 50,000 bills, an officer said on Thursday.

North Jakarta Police detectives chief Asst. Supt. Eko Indra Heri said the suspects were Jayus bin Cahyono, 60, and Baharuddin, 31.

The two men, who are residents of Buton island in Southeast Sulawesi and Jl. Kalibaru in North Jakarta respectively, are being held at the police precinct's detention center.

Eko said the two suspects had been the target of a police operation for a week before the arrest.

He said the detectives received a tip from the public that the suspects allegedly had counterfeit money.

He said the suspects initially denied that they had the fake bills.

However, the detectives were able to verify that some bills, which were seized from them, were fake, he said.

"The surface of the counterfeit bills was rather rough and there was no watermark or security thread," he told The Jakarta Post, adding that the suspects later admitted the money was fake.

Eko said based on a preliminary investigation, the two suspects told them they had obtained the counterfeit money from a friend named Ayong.

"The detectives are now looking for Ayong, who allegedly produced the money," he said.

The Rp 50,000 banknotes, which display national hero W. R. Supratman, have been in circulation since last year, and are replacing the Rp 50,000 notes that are decorated with the picture of former president Soeharto.

The central bank declared that the older Rp 50,000 banknotes would expire in the next five years. (asa)