Long before “fake news”, there were fake gold bars. And they’re still making the rounds to this day.
Law enforcement authorities here are filing criminal charges against two persons who were intercepted and arrested during an entrapment operation for allegedly selling a fake gold bar to a female buyer in Negros Oriental.
The Dumaguete City police arrested Tuesday two suspects following complaints they were allegedly dealing fake gold bars.
PO3 Carlo Jocutan of the Dumaguete Police Station’s investigation section identified the suspects as Ferdinand Leocadio, 51, single and a resident of Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, and Roberto Maximino Madagmos, 48, married, and a resident of San Isidro, Talisay in Davao Oriental.
Initial investigation disclosed that initial transactions for the supposed gold bar were made between the suspects and the victim, Alma Tamonang Dresser-Heller, 47 years old, a widow and a resident of Malabugas, Bayawan City in south Negros Oriental.
According to the victim, she paid a total of P31,000 for several transactions with the suspects, including some gold shavings or scraps, these past weeks and that the next transaction would require P200,000 for one gold bar.
The victim brought samples of the 24 carat gold tiny pieces that she bought from the suspects to a jewelry buyer, Rico Magsico, and discovered that these had a mixture of another metal, bronze.
The victim had sought the help of the police that led to an entrapment inside one of the rooms of a hotel in Dumaguete where the suspects were arrested through a citizen’s arrest, aided by the police.
Further investigation showed that the supposed gold bar with markings such as the word “Burma” and three stars turned out to be fake.
According to Police Officer Jocutan, Madagmos, also known as Jun Cabudlay, was released April last year from the Penal Colony in Davao for robbery and illegal possession of firearms after he was sentenced in September 1996. (Juancho Gallarde/PNA)