This is how an unemployed mother successfully made fake money

A 42-year-old unemployed mother from Pietermaritzburg, who reportedly mastered her skills in creating fake money by watching numerous videos on Google and Instagram, was arrested during a late-night police raid at her residence on Bombay Road.

Shobana Manipersadh, a qualified geotechnician, appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, facing charges related to the production and manufacturing of counterfeit currency.

Following months of surveillance by the uMgungundlovu Crime Intelligence Unit, the Mountain Rise Crime Prevention Unit, the Mountain Rise K9-Unit, and Mi7 Security at her residence and several businesses on Bombay Road, the mother was arrested. She was subsequently released on R1,000 bail, and the case was postponed to later this month for further investigation.

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A source with insight into the investigation revealed that Manipersadh and her husband, who previously worked in the IT sector, lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple, who have two school-going children, faced unemployment challenges.

Manipersadh’s former occupation involved collecting and analyzing geological data from rock, soil, and water samples.

“In July this year they tried to sell their home but were unsuccessful. The couple were in a financial crisis. It is alleged that at this point the woman began looking at ways to make fake money,” the source added.

It has been alleged that through online searches on Google and Instagram, Manipersadh found several videos on how to manufacture fake money.

“This was an easy way of out her financial mess,” the source claimed

Apart from producing counterfeit money, Manipersadh faces charges of selling the fake currency to people within her community. She allegedly charged a fee of R200 for R1,000 worth of counterfeit notes.

The police initiated their investigation a few months ago upon receiving information that counterfeit money was in circulation within the Bombay Road area.

“Supermarket and tuckshop owners complained that a high volume of R100 and R200 fake notes was being used to purchase goods in their stores.”

Reportedly, Manipersadh use people from her community as runners to make purchases of bread and cigarettes on her behalf using the counterfeit money.

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“The purchases were done mostly at night. The poor lighting made it difficult for the business owners to see that the money was fake.”

Their investigations eventually led them to the suspects home on October 19.

“We swooped on her home in a late night raid. We found the equipment which was used to manufacture the fake money in one of the bedrooms. This included a Canon Pixma colour printer, clear nail polish, different types of ink, dyes, a cutting board, specialised coloured paper and various tools.”

It has been alleged that the process to produce the fake money included Manipersadh scanning the R100 and R200 notes and then printing them on the specialised paper.

“It is believed she then used her artistic abilities to apply the inks and dyes to the printed paper. The nail varnish was used to get a shine on the fake note to make it look authentic. Investigations show this was an intricate and labour intensive process. It could take up to two hours to make just one note,” claimed the source.

 

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