Two local men were arrested on Monday for producing and selling fake pataca notes, taking drugs and possession of drug-taking paraphernalia, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Kam Fai said during a special press conference yesterday.
The two jobless men are brothers surnamed Leong, aged 29 and 35.
A 22-year-old local woman surnamed Ng, who was also arrested in connection with the case, also told the police that she is unemployed.
The two men denied that they manufactured and sold the counterfeit notes.
According to Cheong, a cleaner discovered six poorly counterfeited 500-pataca denomination notes in a men’s toilet rubbish bin in a shopping mall in Cotai in late February.
Three of the bogus notes have the same serial number while there are no serial numbers on the other three. The cleaner reported the case to the police.
PJ officers finally tracked down the elder brother and arrested him at a hotel in Nape on Monday. The officers soon afterwards arrested Ng in a hotel room, as well as a quantity of drugs, packaging tools and drug-taking paraphernalia. Leong’s younger brother was arrested later that day at home in Areia Preta district.
Cheong said the three suspects tested positive for methamphetamine. The trio admitted to taking drugs but denied drug trafficking. The two brothers refused to cooperate with the investigation into the counterfeit currency. However, Cheong said there was sufficient evidence that the two men produced and sold fake currency.
The two brothers were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of currency forgery, while they and Ng also face a raft of drug charges, according to Cheong.
The hooded suspects are escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
Evidence seized from the suspects such as a printer, smartphones, drug-taking paraphernalia and counterfeit pataca notes are displayed during yesterday’s special press conference about the case at the pressroom of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters.
