THE Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Cagayan de Oro scored in its campaign against the proliferation of fake bills following the arrest of a suspected counterfeiter in an entrapment operation Monday afternoon in Barangay Tablon.
Senior Inspector Pepito Reyes, chief of the city’s CIDG, identified the suspect as Rogelio Gaid, 57, married, a native of in Kitaotao, Bukidnon.
Reyes said it was a joint operation with representatives from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in Manila that resulted to the apprehension of the suspect.
“The BSP representatives certified the bills as fake, which then signaled the operatives to apprehend the suspect,” Reyes said.
He said Gaid was with two other companions while transacting with CIDG undercover agents posing as buyers.
Gaid told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro in an interview that his associates eluded arrest.
The suspect identified his companions as alias Dodong and Roberto, both residents of Barangay Balubal, this city.
Gaid held a backpack containing 145 US currency bills in different denominations worth $41,548 placed inside a brown envelop.
Reyes said the bills’ market worth is P6.1 million and is intended to be sold to wealthy people, the prospective clients of the suspect.
“The suspect belongs to an organized crime group operating in Northern Mindanao. Bihasa ito. Kaya nilang magsalita para bilugin ang ulo ng mga tao lalo na nung hindi nakakikilala sa kanila and swindle them (victims) (...They are well-versed. They can speak well enough to confuse people specially those who do not recognize them and then swindle the victims.),” Reyes told SunStar Cagayan de Oro.
Reyes said Gaid and his group were under surveillance two weeks ago following an intelligence report from a CIDG-recognized community investigative support (CIS).
He said the CIDG undercover agents then held a “test-buy”.
They bought worth P1,000 dollar bills in different denominations from Gaid’s group.
The bills then were forwarded to the BSP-Manila for examination. When the BSP-Manila certified the bills as fake, the entrapment operation was conducted.
But Gaid denied the allegations saying he was there only for another transaction with two of his accomplices.
“Wala gyud ko kahibalo, sir,” he told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, adding that “naa lang ko didto aron mag-istorya mi parte sa falcata nga kahoy nga among komprahon didto sa Kitaotao aron dalhon dinhi sa Cagayan (I don’t know anything about this. I was only there to talk to those people about our deal to buy falcata logs in Kitaotao [Bukidnon] which we plan on bringing to Cagayan).”
“Wala gani ko kahibalo ngano nga naa sa sulod ang kanang mga kwarta diha sa akong bag. Sige baya ko simba, sir unya mosulod na hinoon ko sa ingon ani (I don’t even know why there was money inside my bag. I regularly go to church, sir, so why would I get into this kind of thing?)” he added.
“Pero sa mga ebidensiya na nakuha natin sigurado kulong siya for violation of Article 168 of Revised Penal Code otherwise known as counterfeiting money bills. Pero bailable naman ito (But with the evidence that we gathered from him, surely he will be convicted in violation of Article 168 of the Revised Penal code otherwise known as counterfeiting money bills. But this is bailable),” Reyes said.
The case was filed Tuesday morning at the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Gaid said he is willing to cooperate with the authorities for the capture of his two other accomplices.
“Motabang gyud ko aron makabalos ko sa ilaha kay giilad ko nila (I will fully cooperate with the police so I could get even with them for deceiving me),” Gaid said.
Well-done
The BSP-Manila congratulated the CIDG-Cagayan de Oro for a well done job.
Edmundo Leopoldo, one of BSP’s currency analysts, told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro that BSP certified the confiscated bills as fake and that it will be brought to Manila for laboratory examination.
“Sandali lang ang pagkilala sa fake na dollar bills. But we still need to conduct laboratory examination to determine how they were manufactured—electronic or by a printing machine,” he added.
Reyes said the CIDG’s next objective would be to identify the places where these bills are manufactured and the machine that the suspects used for production.
“This is our next objective - to prevent the circulation of fake money in the market,” he added.
