Legendary FBI Detective-Chapter 827 - 829: Another Batch of Counterfeit Bills

Reesi's tone was very excited. Luo An and Chenier exchanged a glance and immediately moved their chairs next to her:

"What's the new development?"

"It's about the counterfeit money in Washington D.C."

Reesi, like Chenier, showed the computer screen to Luo An and explained seriously:

"At first, I investigated the relationships of Jenduo and his associates with Mona, and while Mona found some information, I found almost nothing on my end.

So I switched my strategy, figuring that Jenduo's ultimate goal in purchasing the counterfeit money is definitely to spend it.

We found half a million US dollars in the secret room, and apart from that amount, Jenduo's gang might have also distributed counterfeit money to other underground casinos and bars they run."

"You mean, the counterfeit money Jenduo purchased is not limited to just that half a million US dollars?"

Chenier furrowed her brows, understanding Reesi's point, but then remembered something and said:

"But during the bust of Jenduo's gang, the forensic team couldn't find a single counterfeit bill at any of the gang's other locations... Reesi, are you suggesting the forensic team missed something?"

"No."

Reesi shook her head with a smug smile on her face and continued explaining:

"I believe there is no issue with the forensic team.

Since the forensic team didn't miss anything, it means Jenduo only purchased half a million US dollars in counterfeit money and didn't get the chance to circulate it before we took down the gang."

Chenier's frown deepened:

"Reesi, what exactly are you getting at?"

Before Reesi could answer, Luo An picked up the analysis, smiling as he explained:

"Reesi wants to say that since Jenduo's gang only purchased half a million dollars in counterfeit money and hasn't had the chance to spend it yet, there shouldn't be any other counterfeit money in circulation in Washington D.C.

If other counterfeit money has appeared in circulation, there are two possibilities:

Either the seller of the counterfeit money used some themselves, or they sold it to others besides Jenduo."

Clap—

Reesi snapped her fingers with a cheeky smile, looking at Chenier as she said:

"See, only Luo An and I are the smartest in the task force."

Chenier rolled her eyes dramatically, too lazy to argue, and directly asked:

"So, Reesi, did you find any other counterfeit money on the market?"

"You guessed it right!"

Reesi nodded, turned around, and searched through a messy pile of folders on her desk, finding two papers to hand over to Luo An and Chenier, saying:

"I contacted the Washington D.C. police department to inquire if they've received any reports related to counterfeit money in the past two years."

Chenier carefully looked at the information on the papers. Records showed that in the past two years, there had been over a hundred reports related to counterfeit money in Washington D.C.

In most cases, the counterfeit money found by police had low quality, and it was easy to tell it was counterfeit at first glance.

Until a few days ago, the police received a report from a store stating they received a high-quality counterfeit that was indistinguishable to the naked eye, only detectable by a counterfeit money detector.

"The timing of this counterfeit currency's appearance..."

Upon seeing the report date, Chenier paused for a moment:

"The day before we took down Jenduo's gang?"

Luo An squinted slightly as he looked at the related information on the paper:

"The amount this time is very small, just 20 dollars... In other words, the person using this counterfeit note either unknowingly received it from the seller of counterfeit money,

or this individual is actually the seller of the counterfeit notes!"

Chenier's eyes lit up immediately, and Winslow, Michelle, and Mona, who had been listening in silence, also showed excitement. Luo An immediately asked:

"Reesi, have you identified the person who used this 20-dollar counterfeit note?"

"Not yet."

Reesi shrugged and shook her head, indicating that she had just discovered this information when she shared it.

Luo An didn't mind, turning to Mona. Before he could speak, Mona understood his intention and immediately turned to the keyboard.

Mona's fingers flew over the keyboard like agile snakes, and soon after, the lunch ordered by phone was delivered to the office. As Winslow distributed the food, Mona suddenly stopped typing and said loudly:

"Everyone, I've found the guy in the surveillance footage!"

"Very good."

Luo An handed a box of mixed food to Mona, smiling as he said:

"Let's eat first, and after we've filled up, summarize this guy's name, address, and other details. We'll go have a chat with him."

"OK!"

At 1:30 in the afternoon, Luo An and Chenier, along with several SWAT members, found the suspect named Octavius, whom Mona had identified.

After a brief questioning, Octavius revealed everything he knew. He was not the counterfeit money seller, and the fake US dollar was one he accidentally received during a purchase.

Luo An could confirm that Octavius was telling the truth, so he led Chenier and the others to the supermarket Octavius mentioned.

The supermarket owner was unaware of this; he rarely checked change with a counterfeit money detector and, during busy times, often passed change from one customer to the next without checking, leading to high cash flow.

Luo An wasn't surprised and asked the supermarket owner to extract all recent surveillance footage for the task force to examine thoroughly.

Fortunately, when Octavius went shopping, the supermarket wasn't very crowded, allowing Luo An and the others to quickly find the person who had given the fake bill to the supermarket owner.

Upon seeing the individual's face, Luo An and Mona frowned immediately—it was the white youth who, in a failed robbery the previous night, was shot by an old man in self-defense.

"Good evening, we meet again."

At 6:30 p.m., in an interrogation room at a Washington D.C. police station, Luo An and Mona sat side by side. Across from them sat the white youth, his face full of resignation:

"Agent, it was just a robbery attempt, and I didn't even succeed. Why would the FBI need to find me?"

"We didn't come for you because of yesterday's failed robbery."

Luo An opened Mona's laptop, smiling faintly as he said:

"Martin Torres, 29 years old, unemployed, previously jailed for using and selling drugs, recently released two years ago..."

After reading Martin's basic information, Luo An smiled and said:

"So, did you learn a new trade in prison, Martin? This time, you're not selling drugs but counterfeit money instead?"

"Me? Selling counterfeit money?"

Martin widened his eyes in disbelief. Luo An didn't bother explaining much, directly showing him the surveillance footage from the supermarket.

"No, no, no..."

After watching the surveillance video, Martin's eyes twitched, and he shook his head repeatedly, saying:

"I've never sold counterfeit money. Don't wrong me; I have nothing to do with this sort of thing."

Mona squinted slightly while Luo An maintained his smile, asking:

"So where did you get this counterfeit note?"

"How should I know?"

Martin spread his hands, eyes wide, his face full of innocence:

"Everything costs money these days, who would remember the origin of every bill?"

Luo An nodded gently:

"That's quite a good point."

"Exactly."

Martin sighed in relief, about to say more when Luo An turned to Mona:

"Go fill out the paperwork, and we'll bring this guy to FBI headquarters."

Martin: "?!"