Police Bust Counterfeit Money Syndicate Ahead of Eid in West Java

The Mobile Brigade Unit of Bareskrim Polri has uncovered a syndicate distributing counterfeit money operating in the Purwakarta area, West Java, ahead of Eid. The bust took place on Friday (13/3) around 23:30 WIB, with police raiding a fried rice stall in the Plered district of Purwakarta. At the site, officers arrested four suspects with initials AS, K, AK, who acted as intermediaries, and DNA, suspected of being the counterfeiter. “This group has been operating for a long time and is connected to another counterfeit money production group recently secured in Klaten Police Resort,” said Head of Mobile Brigade Bareskrim Polri, Commissioner Arsya Khadafi, in his statement on Wednesday (18/3). Arsya stated that from the suspects, police found initial evidence consisting of seven sheets of fake 100,000 rupiah notes with 2016 production series. Based on further developments, the team conducted a follow-up raid at a house in Griya Ciwangi Housing, Ciwangi Village, Bungursari Subdistrict, Purwakarta. “At this location, police found a large quantity of counterfeit money production equipment,” Arsya said. The seized evidence included a printer machine, a computer set, a money scale, thousands of sheets of dupon paper as raw material, an ultraviolet printing machine, a colour drying oven, a press tool, dyes, and a counterfeit money cutting tool. In addition, officers confiscated ready-to-circulate fake money. Arsya explained that the revelation stemmed from public information regarding the syndicate’s plan to distribute counterfeit money worth billions of rupiah during the Eid period. Arsya added that the case has now been handed over to the Directorate of Special Economic Crimes at Bareskrim Polri for further investigation. In this case, the perpetrators are charged with suspected criminal acts of distributing counterfeit money as regulated under Article 374 of the Criminal Code and/or Articles 375 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code. Furthermore, the police are urging the public to be more vigilant against the circulation of counterfeit money, especially ahead of the holidays, and to report any suspicious activities immediately.