Mindanaotoday.com | Police nab fake gold bar sellers
By: Jigger Jerusalem
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Four persons allegedly selling fake gold bars were arrested during an entrapment operation conducted by the police’s City Mobile Force Company (CMFC) in Barangay Gusa Saturday noon, June 4.
Taken from the suspected sellers were two gold bars that police said were counterfeit, three cellular phones, a genuine P1,000 bill, and a bundle of bogus bills and pieces of paper.
Authorities identified the suspects as Rey Naranjo, 58, married, a resident of Barangay Indahag, this city; “Junalie,” 58, from Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental; “Jerson,” 28, from Malitbog, Bukidnon, and Jimwel, 33, Sumilao, Bukidnon.
Except for Naranjo, the CMFC only gave the first names of the complainant and the suspects.
Lt. Col. Joepet Paglinawan, CMFC commander, said the complainant, named by police only as “Mitchel,” from Opol town in Misamis Oriental, sought their help after he was allegedly defrauded of P500,000 from the suspects.
The first meet-up between Mitchel and the suspects happened this April, police said.
The victim’s complaint prompted the CMFC to set up an entrapment operation using the information they have gathered from Mitchel and other sources, said Maj. Ericson Sabanal.
Sabanal, the leader of the arresting team, said the suspects’ modus operandi was to show real gold coins to prospective buyers first and if they are convinced, the perpetrators will then try to sell them gold bars.
For this transaction, Sabanal said, the suspect allegedly offered to sell two gold bars, which they claimed are worth P15 million, for only P1.8 million.
The police officer said the suspects are members of the Ganghaan Landless Association in Tagoloan and were known as sellers of fake gold bars operating in some parts of Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro, and Bukidnon.
Sabanal said they have been monitoring the suspects for two weeks prior to the entrapment operation.
“To avoid being arrested, the suspects chose the area for a meet-up. That’s why we had a hard time capturing them,” he said.
In order to convince that what they are selling is authentic, the suspects would scratch the gold coins that they brought during the first meeting and would show the prospective buyer photos of the gold bars on their cellphone.
Identification cards that were confiscated from Naranjo certified him as a member of both the Phil. National Police’s Regional Intelligence Group in Northern Mindanao and the Moro National Liberation Front signed by Nur Misuari.
An identification card showed Naranjo to be also the C.O.P.S. Interpol and a laminated document issued by the Councilor of Elders based in Lantapan, Bukidnon.
Sabanal said they have to verify if Naranjo is indeed affiliated with the PNP and the MNLF.
The arresting team also confiscated three cellular phones, which contained the text messages between the suspects and CMFC, from the perpetrators.
Sabanal said the suspects will be facing charges for violation of Presidential Decree 1689 or syndicated estafa.
In an interview, Naranjo said he did not know that the gold bars were fake, but admitted that the gold coins that they showed to buyers, which were his, were authentic.
“The gold coins were real. I owned them as part of my collection,” he said.
Naranjo said he is into mining and went into gold trading hoping to earn more without toiling in the gold mine.
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