Police Arrest the Eighth Person Involved in the Counterfeiting of ‘martinelli’ Coins at Tocumen Airport

The National Police arrested at Tocumen International Airport one of the suspects involved in a network dedicated to counterfeiting one Balboa coins known as ‘martinellis’.  The 41-year-old man of Chinese descent was arrested as he returned to the country from San Francisco, United States.  According to investigations, the subject is linked to the seizure of 55,480 Balboa ‘martinelli’ coins, located during a raid carried out at a residence in Condado del Rey.  On that occasion, the authorities also found a large number of documents allegedly related to the printing and distribution of counterfeit coins.  Authorities also believe that the coins seized in Condado del Rey are related to the seizure of another batch of coins located in a residence in the province of Chiriquí.  It is worth remembering that the authorities discovered a warehouse with die-cutting machines used for minting counterfeit coins in the Altos de Tocumen area (Panama district).  At the end of November, the National Customs Authority (ANA) followed a truck with cargo of dubious origin, which, when stopped, found several boxes with fake one-balboa coins from China, as well as other counterfeit goods.  A magistrate charged seven people allegedly involved in a network dedicated to counterfeiting ‘Martinelli’ coins.

The first 183,202 fake Martinelli coins were found on November 7 in a warehouse in Chilibre, Panama province. Later, another batch of 271,281 fake Martinelli coins was found in the same place.  According to the authorities, more than half a million counterfeit Martinelli coins have been seized so far.  Authorities estimate that the dismantled criminal network is responsible for the introduction of counterfeit ‘martinelli’ coins into Panama, since their production, transportation and distribution in Panamanian commerce require well-structured logistics.  In addition, the Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting three investigations related to the counterfeiting of ‘martinelli’ coins, after merchants and users revealed the circulation of coins other than those of normal currency.  The appearance of counterfeit coins forced the National Bank of Panama (BNP) to publish instructions for recognizing counterfeit ‘martinellis’ from authentic ones.  According to the document, the royal coins must have the word Panama with an accent and the words Iglesia, Balboa and JMJ must be spelled correctly. The other words such as República and José must have their respective accents.  In addition, the front inner circle is gold or multi-colored. Meanwhile, all coins are bi-metallic and have a gold metal shield.