Scammers and counterfeit money makers are rampant in Mahajanga. A network of forgers has just been dismantled by elements of the criminal investigation section of the national gendarmerie last Wednesday. Law enforcement obtained intelligence about a gang of con artists attempting to sell a counterfeit money printing machine at a hotel establishment in Tanambao Sotema. An operation was launched to catch the perpetrators in the act. Upon arrival of police forces, three suspects managed to escape, while one accomplice was arrested. Counterfeit 20,000 ariary notes were also seized.
"A trap was set based on the intelligence gathered. Three of the four criminals fled, but a device allegedly for manufacturing 20,000 ariary notes was seized. They were about to find a buyer to sell the fake machine for 2.5 billion francs, or 500 million ariary. A counterfeiter was also caught on the spot. Their main objective was to sell the fake device and defraud the buyer, not to manufacture counterfeit notes," declared the commander of the criminal investigation section, Chief Warrant Officer Angelo Rinaldy Nandrasana.
According to investigators, the machine cannot produce authentic banknotes. A genuine 20,000 ariary note was already placed inside the device beforehand. During the demonstration, when white paper is inserted, the real note comes out of the machine.
Investigations continue to locate the three other suspects. The arrested accomplice, originally from Soavina in the Haute Matsiatra region, caught in the act, was referred to the prosecutor's office. This case recalls a previous major seizure made last September by Mahajanga gendarmes. One hundred counterfeit thousand-dollar bills were discovered following anonymous tips. A man was arrested in Mahabibo. He was attempting to exchange the dollars for ariary. However, the cashier, noticing anomalies on the notes, alerted a colleague before informing law enforcement. They were staying at a hotel and his accomplice disappeared. The quality of the counterfeit bills surprised the gendarmes. The traffickers had done meticulous work, going beyond simple reproduction. In Madagascar, manufacturing and circulating counterfeit currency constitutes a serious crime, severely punished under the Malagasy Penal Code.