Bogota  - Authorities confiscated counterfeit US bank notes totalling more than 2 million dollars in two operations in the city of Medellin, the Colombian Judicial Police said on the weekend.

Agents seized more than 1 million counterfeit dollars sent to a Medellin courier business from the town of Quinchia, in Risaralda province, the police statement said Saturday.

"During the operation, 24 packages were confiscated containing 10,320 notes of 100-dollar denomination, equivalent to 1,032,000 dollars," it said.

Police investigators said the counterfeit dollars were intended for distribution outside Colombia.

In the second operation, agents arrested three people and seized counterfeit notes totalling 1 million dollars at an illegal printing shop, the statement said.

"Also found were 2.25 million dollars of paper with watermarks in the process of being falsified; the equivalent of 2.5 million dollars in blank paper ready for printing; three copying machines and four plates used to produce the false notes," it said.

It said the investigation showed those counterfeit 100-dollar bills were to be distributed in different parts of the country, to take advantage of the Christmas shopping season. (dpa)