US forgery team to open bureau
THE discovery in Hong Kong of two separate counterfeiting syndicates and about HK$60 million in forged United States currency has convinced the US Secret Service to establish a permanent presence in the territory.
A Honolulu-based Secret Service senior special agent, who took part in a joint Commercial Crimes Bureau (CCB) and Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) operation which netted nine suspects and about HK$7 million in forged notes, yesterday revealed plans for a Hong Kong office.
The HK$60 million in US notes seized in operations against Hong Kong syndicates in the past year comprises almost 10 per cent of forged currency the Secret Service confiscated around the world last year.
''This is the second multi-million dollar operation in Hong Kong in the past 11 months. They were the two biggest busts in the region last year.
''There is obviously the need for a full-time office here and we would like to get one. We also do work on counterfeit credit cards, which is another reason to come,'' the agent said.
The Secret Service, whose primary tasks are protecting the US president and the country's currency, liaised with the CCB and the ICAC during the operation, which ended yesterday.
''Lately there has been an increase in counterfeiting. By working jointly with the police and ICAC and sharing manpower and resources, this is what happens. These notes are not what we call good quality. But in many countries they could be passed very easily,'' the agent said.
The South China Morning Post revealed last week that a US Secret Service agent had briefed CCB and ICAC investigators on tiny flaws in high quality counterfeit US banknotes circulating in the region.
Police yesterday displayed a batch of poorer-quality forged US$100 bills, an array of inks and other counterfeiting paraphernalia seized during Monday night raids on 26 premises.
''We believe this syndicate had only just started counterfeiting currency and that all the counterfeits produced have been seized,'' said CCB Acting Detective Senior Superintendent Peter Bunning.
''It would have been sold originally in Hong Kong, and then may have found its way in batches overseas [if not for the seizures]. We believe we got the entire syndicate.'' ICAC chief investigator Mike Squires said the operation was sparked last November when the graft-fighting organisation received information that a man was offering to sell counterfeit US$100 banknotes for between HK$80 and HK$120.
CCB Detective Chief Inspector Peter Barnes, who led the raids, said the only resistance came from the suspected ring-leader and syndicate's printer, who was arrested in a Tsim Sha Tsui hotel with 22 sheets of partially printed counterfeit US banknotes.
Another 1,500 sheets of banknotes with a face value of $US900,000 (HK$6.95 million), an offset lithographic printing press, and a full set of film negatives believed to have been used in producing the counterfeits were seized from a printing company in Chai Wan. The owner of the factory and his brother were arrested.
Police arrested two men at a trading company in Kowloon Bay and seized a single counterfeit $US100 note as well as numerous forged mainland marriage registration stamps.
