Operation Victory: network dismantles counterfeit dollar factory in La Unión, Valle del Cauca
The Dijín, the Prosecutor's Office and the US Secret Service seized 517,730 counterfeit dollars and 350 million counterfeit pesos produced in Valle del Cauca.
Clandestine counterfeit dollar factory in La Unión produces more than half a million adulterated foreign currency
Colombian and US authorities dismantled a criminal organisation dedicated to the production and distribution of counterfeit currency from Valle del Cauca to Bogotá, according to infobae.com. The operation, called Operation Victory, resulted in the seizure of 517,730 counterfeit dollars and more than 350 million counterfeit Colombian pesos, in addition to four arrests.
The offensive brought together the Dijín of the National Police, the General Prosecutor's Office and the US Secret Service. The participation of the US agency was decisive in tracking the production and circulation of fraudulent currency.
Two-storey house as counterfeiting industrial centre
The operation focused on a two-storey residence in the El Amparo neighbourhood in La Unión, which operated under the appearance of a lithography company. Inside, investigators found a production structure divided by tasks: design, printing, finishing, storage of supplies and preparation of money for distribution.
Officers seized an industrial lithographic machine capable of printing large volumes of banknotes with details designed to evade visual inspections and detectors. In the design area they found a laptop with digital materials used to replicate watermarks and security threads present in authentic dollars. Two laser printers, special inks, chemical products and matrices completed the factory's equipment.
At the La Unión property, 251,720 counterfeit dollars that were ready to be packaged and sent to the illegal market remained in custody. The availability of specialised materials indicated, according to the authorities, access to external suppliers and a stable supply chain.
Four detainees, including the alleged ringleader
During the raid, four presumed members of the structure were arrested. The authorities identified Hugo Chávez, alias Majinbu, as the alleged ringleader and organiser of the operation in La Unión. William Ibáñez is said to have performed functions as a technical operator and printer, with responsibility for the graphic production of the currency. Jorge Ríos and Eduar Posso were in charge, according to the investigation, of logistics, stockpiling of supplies and transportation of the product.
A judge of guarantee control ordered a custody measure at the Tuluá prison against alias Majinbu, Ríos and Posso. Ibáñez received house arrest in Cali. The four prosecuted individuals must respond for counterfeiting national or foreign currency, trafficking and possession of elements for counterfeiting currency, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Simultaneous capture of the contact in Bogotá
In a parallel operation, agents arrested Omar Montes, alias Damián, in the El Rincón neighbourhood in the Suba locality, identified as the main liaison for stockpiling and selling counterfeit currency in the capital. In his possession were found 266,010 counterfeit dollars and 350,950,000 counterfeit Colombian pesos. He also carried 500 genuine dollars and 16.8 million genuine pesos which, according to the investigation, he used as bait to deceive his victims.
During the procedure, officers also seized a uniform for exclusive use by the National Army.
"Montes Deavila was charged with trafficking in counterfeit currency, possession of elements for counterfeiting currency and use of uniforms and insignias for exclusive use by the Military Forces," confirmed Colonel Elver Vicente Alfonso Sanabria, director of Criminal Investigation and Interpol. The officer added that a custody measure was imposed against alias Damián at his place of residence.
Source: Google News CO — Crime