Agents of Alicante’s National Police have broken up one of the longest established groups of currency forgers in Spain. Six people have been arrested for producing and distributing illegal five-euro notes, not only nationally, but also in Portugal.
Investigations began in 2015 following the detection of a significant increase in counterfeit notes mainly in the province of Alicante. Since then, agents opened several lines of investigation as five euro banknotes were detected throughout the country and Portugal, but mainly in Madrid, the Valencian Community, Andalusia and Catalonia.
The investigation process has been complex because five-euro banknotes are not usually examined by the general public because of their low value, so counterfeit notes are not usually discovered in this regard.
Police efforts led to the identification of several individuals with a police record for similar crimes. Investigations revealed that 45,000 euros in 5 euro notes have been put into circulation by this particular gang.
In one of the homes in Alicante, the Police found 526 counterfeit bills wrapped in foil. The arrests follow a similar raid carried out two weeks ago in Granada, where a distributor was arrested, leading to the seizure of a printing press in Huelva where they printed false five, ten, twenty and fifty euro bills.
