Police in Ethiopia have arrested a Cameroonian for alleged involvement in a counterfeit money and possession of fake local and US dollar banknotes in Addis Ababa.
The suspect was caught along with $297, 000 million and 360,000 Birr counterfeit currencies, the Addis Ababa Police Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
The swoop on him was made after the police were alerted by a resident that the suspect befriended and later tried to deceive in a scam business venture.
According to the police report, the suspect said his father, who he mentioned as a UN worker, passed away after raising $5 million for relief work in his home and with the help of diplomats, he was able to bring half of the money to invest in Ethiopia.
The suspect then asked his ‘new friend’ to contribute 1.4 million birr ($26,115) in order to jointly invest in the business.
The friend who got suspicious of the scheme went on to alert the police about the issue, the statement said.
After a close follow up, the police said the suspect was apprehended along with the fake $297, 000 million and 360,000 Birr ($6792) counterfeit currencies at the Hayat roundabout in Kora sub-city.
Several equipment and chemicals used to make the counterfeit bills were also seized during the search.
MG/as/APA