Two men were arrested in 100 Mile House as part of an ongoing RCMP counterfeit investigation.
Sergeant Brian Lamb says the 100 Mile House RCMP, with the assistance of the Cariboo Chilcotin Crime Reduction Unit, executed multiple search warrants at residences on Horse Lake Road on December 3, in which the two men were arrested as a result.
“Police seized a small amount of counterfeit US currency, several computers, a large amount of various gift cards, firearms, and a large sum of Canadian currency in $100 bills,” Lamb says. He added that the two men were held in custody but were later released.
“The investigation is ongoing, and reports of counterfeit currency continue to occur in the 100 Mile House area in denominations of $100s and $50s.”
100 Mile House RCMP have been investigating counterfeit $100 and $50 bills circulating in the town since early September.
One person was arrested in 100 Mile House in November, while the RCMP say there was a spike in counterfeit $100 bills circulating across the Cariboo.
Police say some of these counterfeits can be “quite convincing to the untrained eye”, while others have more “telling” signs such as peeling plastics and foils, discolourations, missing serial numbers, and wrong denominations.
Even with this, police are still seeing a trend of regular reports of counterfeit currency in the community, and local businesses are taking the biggest hit.
“It’s several bills per week from varying locations across the community,” says Lamb. “When businesses come into contact with these and take these bills, they are around of that money. That’s something that has become hugely problematic because there are victims associated to this, and its usually the businesses in the community that suffer from it.”
While the investigation into the counterfeits is ongoing. Police say the best way to get educated on how to spot a fake, or to get bills checked are getting them checked at banks.
They also say to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and contact the Bank of Canada to file reports and get assistance.
Something going on in the Cariboo you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing cariboonews@vistaradio.ca.
