Battambang's Kamrieng district police arrested a man who allegedly attempted to exchange ceremonial “spirit money’’ for real riel at a market on Friday night.

Phann Channara, Kamrieng district police chief, said the suspect, Rorn Mosa, 43, was arrested after being reported by local vendors.

“The vendors told us that there was a man who brought a lot of fake dollars to change in the market . . .

We searched his body and found $29,560 in fake dollars, 9,000 in fake Chinese yuan and six fake necklaces, but he also had 200,000 real Cambodian riel,” he said.

The notes Mosa was accused of passing are mass produced fakes, burned as offerings to ancestors.

Mosa reportedly admitted to changing $50 in fake bills into riel, and said he bought the fake currency at Battambang town’s Nat market.

“[Mosa] used to spend [the money] at the market in Battambang town and along the Cambodia-Thai border,” Channara continued, adding that on Saturday Mosa was sent to court and charged with trafficking counterfeit money and is currently detained awaiting trial.