National Police smash counterfeit gang producing fake euro notes

AFTER more than a year of investigation, officers of the National Police supported by the Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO), who are a special operations group, and the Bank of Spain have smashed a gang of forgers.

Fake €10 and €20 notes have been circulating within Valladolid and the surrounding area and the police became aware that a large number of notes had been printed, ready to spend during the Christmas rush when shops would be busier than usual.

The officers established the identity of the gang responsible for the production and distribution of the fake notes which they knew of from the gang’s past involvement with drug trafficking, prostitution and counterfeiting.

The leader of this gang was known to be dangerous and lived in a property which was protected by CCTV and a permanent ‘sentry’ which is why special care and the involvement of the GEO was necessary.

The actual printing of the fake notes was undertaken in a different property to that lived in by the gang leader and he would place an order for a certain number of notes and then send one of his gang members to collect them once they were ready.

A total of 120 officers were involved in raiding a number of properties and in one, they arrested the leader, his wife and son-in-law whilst at another they discovered the printing presses which had been dismantled ready to move to another location.

In all 12 people were arrested and a large number of forged notes were seized together with waste material. Also in another property, officers found two kilos of marihuana, half a kilo of cocaine and two pistols.

The total haul included sufficient paper to allow the production of €60,000 in false notes.