The police arrested a group of nine persons who are suspected of counterfeiting bills of 100 lei. The banknotes were sold for 50 genuine lei or were put into circulation at filling stations and in villages at night. The suspects are also investigated for other offenses, including murder, IPN reports.
In a news conference on March 25, Tudor Bejan, deputy head of the National Investigations Inspectorate, said that the group was caught last weekend, with the help of the special brigade “Fulger”. In an apartment in Hancesti town, the police found modern printers and scanners and chemical substances for counterfeiting bills, as well as a pistol, over 20 packs of marijuana and more than 70 bills of 100 lei.
”The forged bills were made from authentic bills of 10 lei. They were washed in a special solution and then 10 was modified into 100. As the metallic thread and the projection of Stephen the Great’s picture were kept, the bills couldn’t be differentiated from the genuine ones. They were of a high quality,” said Tudor Bejan.
The amount of forged money is not known. There were carried out 90 examinations and started 90 criminal cases. The suspects are aged between 20 and 34 and are from Chisinau and Hancesti. Four of them are investigated for theft, causing of serious bodily injuries, and murder. The group’s leader was investigated for committing an extremely cruel murder in Hancesti district in 2012 and was under house arrest. But it was established that he often left the place.
The suspects face up to 15 years in jail. Four of them were put under arrest on a temporary basis, while the others were banned from leaving the settlement.
