By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
BAGUIO CITY -- A treasure hunter and his two companions were arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for selling a fake 32-kilogram gold bar.
The buyer became suspicious when the gold was sold to him at a discounted price of P16 million, way below its supposed value of P22 million.
NBI Regional Director Ricardo Pangan Jr. identified Tuesday the alleged swindler as Gabriel Mariano Bagtang, 67, married, a jobless resident of Purok 6, Pinsao Pilot Project who claims to be a treasure hunter.
Bagtang's two other companions, meanwhile, were found to have only acted as intermediaries and were said to be unaware that what they were selling was only a gold-plated bar.
The supposed buyer was Ferdinand Laceste Laranang, of legal age, married, a civil engineer, who lives along Mirador Hill. Laranang narrated that his cousin informed him last Friday that someone was looking for a buyer of a genuine gold bar being sold at a discounted price.
Laranang said he and the sellers executed an agreement over the gold bar Monday morning. Laranang said the sellers told him they would hand over the gold bar to him once he makes an advance payment of P5 million, and a guarantee that the balance would be paid within 24 hours.
He then issued the suspects a check for P5 million but informed them it could only be cashed at East-West Bank along Abanao Street at 2 p.m., to give him time to have the gold bar examined at the local Central Bank office.
Laranang had the genuine gold ingot sawed and scraped on its surface and it was then that it was discovered to be only gold-plated.
He said he immediately reported the incident to the NBI-Cordilleras, and Pangan formed a team to entrap the suspects while they where in the act of having the check cashed.
It was only during interrogation that Bagtang's companions reportedly realized they sold a fake gold bar. (Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2006/02/15/treasure.hunter.busted.for.selling.fake.gold.html
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