A 24-year-old foreign national was arrested in Bishkek with a large sum of counterfeit money. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan reported.

The suspect was detained during a special operation targeting counterfeit currency distributors.

«Law enforcement officers set up a sting operation to catch the perpetrators. Earlier, they received information that an individual was planning to purchase cryptocurrency (several hundred USDT). However, investigators suspected that fraudsters and counterfeiters might try to use fake bills for the transaction. As a result, officers from the Main Criminal Investigation Department arrested the suspect, foreigner, identified as 24-year-old S.I., who had multiple prior convictions in his home country,» the statement said.

A criminal case has been opened under the article «Counterfeiting money and securities» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic. Upon searching the suspect’s bag, officers found $362,900, of which only $900 turned out to be genuine.

The suspect has been placed in a temporary detention center, and authorities are working to identify and detain other members of the criminal group.