Police in Phu Quoc, an island city off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, on Friday announced the arrest of three Uzbek men who allegedly used fake U.S. banknotes in scams to appropriate money from local establishments.

These foreign suspects – Nasyrov Odiljon, 31, Ernazarov Feruzbek, 24, and Rasulov Isroil, 31 – were detained at the Grand World Phu Quoc resort in Ganh Dau Commune at 3:25 am on the same day.

They have been under investigation on charges of circulating fake banknotes and appropriating assets.

Police officers seized more than US$22,000 in counterfeit $100 bills and over VND330 million (nearly $13,000) in Vietnamese currency.

The arrest came about two months after the city police received reports from many establishments over the loss of a total of over VND200 million ($7,850) due to a group of foreigners who used fake banknotes.

After determining these Uzbeks as alleged culprits of the scams, the police launched an investigation that led to their arrest.

These foreigners admitted they had exchanged counterfeit U.S. dollars for Vietnamese dong or used them to purchase goods and pay for services, thereby appropriating money from shops, hotels and restaurants in Phu Quoc.

The city police said they are coordinating with relevant forces to expand their investigation into the swindling gang to track down the origin of the counterfeit U.S. banknotes.

They have also called on victims of this gang to report their cases to police.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!