Women stopped regarding $10,000 in suspicious bills…
Top photo: Officer Mark Delaney examines suspicious hundred dollar bill.
Hyannis – At approximately 2:30pm, two Barnstable Police squad cars were quickly making their way to the food court area inside the Cape Cod Mall.
Mall Security Officers had two women under surveillance.
A 60-year-old woman and 29-year-old woman, both from Yarmouth, were said to be in possession of what was described as a “stack” of suspicious hundred dollar bills.
Mall security officers were relaying the up-to-the-moment location of the women as they walked past kiosks and storefronts.
Police were closing in.
A high ranking Barnstable Police detective became aware of the situation and contacted responding officers.
Police finally caught up to the women and a counterfeit money investigation was underway.
The questioning had begun.
Two hours later, two seasoned Barnstable patrol investigators arrived at the back entrance to a residence in Yarmouth.
Where questioning continued…
The women who were originally stopped inside the mall, along with a small child, also arrived at the Yarmouth address.
According to police, the women said they purchased the suspicious hundred dollar bills in Brazil.
The $10,000 in U.S. bills have serial numbers dating back 30 years or more, and that may be part of the problem.
At a time when merchants and security are on high alert due to the recent release of the newly designed hundred dollar bill, older bills may not be easily cleared through on-site identification practices.
Today’s bills remain under scrutiny and the investigation is ongoing, but officers hope to make a more definitive determination as to whether or not they’re counterfeit after the long weekend.
Investigators will be doing additional checks using more sophisticated scanning equipment when banks reopen on Tuesday.
If the bills still appear counterfeit, the investigation will likely be referred to the Secret Service for further investigation.
Hyannis News will provide updates as they become available.
10/12/2013
Robert Bastille, HyannisNews.com
P.S. – Tonight’s HyTown Vignette is brought to by The O’Jays…. [Press play]
