Cameroonian National Held with Counterfeit currencies in Addis

ADDIS ABABA – Police in Addis Ababa arrested a Cameroonian national for possession of fake Ethiopian Birr and US dollars currencies.

The suspect was caught on Monday along with $297, 000 million and 360,000 Birr counterfeit currencies, reported the Addis Ababa Police on Tuesday.

The arrest was made after the police were alerted by a resident in the capital that the suspect befriended and later tried to deceive in a scam business venture.

According to the Police report, the suspect, identified as a male Cameroonian national, told the Addis resident that his father, who he mentioned as UN worker, passed away after raising $5 million for relief work in his home.

And he said, with the help of diplomats, he was able to bring half of the money into Ethiopia to invest.

The suspect then asked his ‘new friend’ to contribute 1.4 million birr 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 report says.

After a close follow up, the Police said the suspect was apprehended on Monday along with the fake currencies in 100 US dollar and 200 Birr bills nearby Hayat roundabout in Kora sub-city.

Several equipment and chemicals used to make the counterfeit bills were also seized during the search.

The case is still a subject of a further investigation, the Addis Ababa police disclosed after putting the suspect in custody.