£1,400bn counterfeit scam foiled in Philippines

Philippines police and US officials have seized $2 trillion in counterfeit US Federal Reserve bonds.

Police Superintendent Nestor Gualberto said his officers and staff from the US Embassy arrested a Filipino man with the £1,400bn falsified US bonds along with German and Argentine bonds.

He said the Argentine bonds seized totalled 1.6 billion Argentine pesos (£1.1bn), while the German bonds totalled 10 million marks (£3.25m).

Gualberto said the raid on the house also found an original metal box from the US Federal Reserve.

"During the raid, my men were assisted by members of the US Embassy and Secret Service," Gualberto said.

He said one man escaped from the house during the raid, and police seized a firearm belonging to another.

"We know they were selling some bonds to very curious buyers - businessmen in the area," Gualberto added.

Cagayan de Oro, 500 miles south east of Manila, is in the southern region of Mindanao, which is torn by at least three guerrilla uprisings.

Two Muslim separatist groups are fighting to carve homelands out of the region, while communist guerrillas are fighting to overthrow the government.

Strife in the poverty-stricken region also makes it home to kidnapping and other crime.