/ 10 December 2001

EGYPTIAN COPS ARREST MONEY-SWITCHING GANG

EGYPTIAN police said on Monday they had arrested a gang which robbed gullible victims of their cash by pretending to change their Egyptian pounds into US dollars with the aid of genies. The four members of the gang gained 150 000 pounds, the equivalent of $35 295, in just a few days, the police said. Persuading their victims that a flask decorated with ancient Egyptian drawings and filled with red liquid could make genies produce dollars, they switched the Egyptian currency under cover of clouds of incense in a darkened room. The gang returned what appeared to be a wad of dollars, but turned out to be just ordinary paper with a dollar bill at top and bottom, police said. – AFP