A lot of cold, hard cash passes through the hands of money changers every day.
Unfortunately, that exposes them to a greater crime risk, including stealing.
Two men allegedly stole from a money changer in City Hall recently.
Thankfully, the duo were nabbed by the police just as they were about to depart Singapore on a plane.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
In a Facebook post on Saturday (22 Apr), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) revealed that they had investigated a case of theft in dwelling.
This occurred on Friday (21 Apr), and involved two male suspects plus a large sum of S$100,112 (US$75,000) that was purportedly stolen from a money changer in Coleman Street.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
Coleman Street from the National Gallery to the Children’s Museum Singapore in the City Hall area.
The two men, foreign nationals aged 45 and 54, visited the money changer four times between 18 and 21 Apr, SPF said.
On all four occasions, they made genuine transactions, exchanging Singapore dollars for United States (US) dollars.
This allowed them to gain familiarity with the money changer.
On 20 Apr, they asked the money changer to prepare US$75,000 for them, as they wanted to exchange Singapore dollars for it.
At about 4.30pm on 21 Apr, the two men arrived and without even handing over any Singapore dollars, they asked the money changer to let them count the US$75,000 he had prepared.
They verified that the sum was correct, and it was in bundles of US$100 bills.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
The older man then packed the cash into plastic bags and placed them inside their briefcase.
This is when the men reportedly performed a sleight of hand.
They tried to hand the briefcase over to the money changer, ostensibly to return the cash to him, but it couldn’t fit into the gap in the counter.
Thus, they then appeared to remove the plastic bags, supposedly containing the cash, from the briefcase and place them into a black leather bag.
This leather bag could fit through the gap as it was smaller.
The men then left, saying they would return with the Singapore dollars and their passports.
After one hour, the men didn’t return, and the money changer became suspicious.
He then opened the leather bag and discovered it didn’t contain the US$75,000 in cash he had prepared.
Instead, it contained three plastic bags with US$1 and US$100 notes bundles.
There were also a number of fake Euro notes.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
He realised the US$75,000 cash had allegedly been swapped with US dollars and fake Euro notes.
When the SPF received a report on the case that same day, they checked police cameras and CCTV footage.
They also conducted extensive ground enquiries.
Officers quickly identified the two men.
They also discovered they were on a plane about to take off from Changi Airport. Its destination was Frankfurt, Germany.
In a dramatic finale, Airport Police Division officers acted swiftly to stop the plane from leaving.
The two men were then taken from the plane and immediately arrested.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
Their successful apprehensions came within just eight hours of the police report being made.
Upon their arrests, S$99,568 (US$74,600) was found on them in denominations of US$100 bills.
The cash was seized as case exhibits, along with electronic devices and even the clothes they wore while committing the alleged offence.
Police investigations are ongoing, SPF said.
On Sunday (23 Apr), the men will be charged in court with theft in dwelling with common intention.
Kudos to our police force for nabbing the alleged culprits quickly.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force on Facebook.
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