Casinos in the Philippines are on the lookout for gamblers attempting to pass off phony US currency as the real thing.

Last week, the Philippine News Agency reported that three individuals had been arrested at the Resorts World Manila casino for attempting to purchase gaming chips with fake US currency worth around PHP288k (US$5,500).

The three men – one Chinese national, one South Korean national and a former Philippine police officer who was dismissed in 2018 following numerous administrative violations – were rumbled after an alert casino staffer noted that the $100 bills all featured the same serial number.

Major Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, director of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said the three men had fingered a different South Korean national, James Park, as the source of the funny money. Police have yet to locate Park but have opened an investigation to determine whether there is more counterfeit cash currently circulating through the local casino market.