Police in Lilongwe have arrested a 25- year-old man Macdonald Makoka for attempting to deposit fake currency with a face value of K47, 500 into Airtel money account.

It is reported that Makoka had approached an Airtel Money agent at Mtsiliza Trading Centre to deposit cash of which K18, 000 was fake and K29, 500 was original.

When the transaction was done, the agent discovered that some notes were counterfeit.

Later, the agent reported the matter to Police who arrested the suspect and confiscated the fake currency which had a face value of K18, 000 in K2,000 notes.

The counterfeit money bore one serial number of BG 8600027.

The notes will be sent to the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) for examinations of its authenticity.

The suspect will answer charges of importing or purchasing forged notes, which is contrary to Section 366 of the Penal Code once investigations are over.

Meanwhile, police in the district are urging community members to continue being vigilant in order to curb circulation of fake currency in the country.

Counterfeit money is an imitation currency produced without the legal sanction of the state or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency so as to deceive its recipient.

The suspect hails from Wilson Village in the area of Traditional Authority Nsabwe in Thyolo district.