Spanish police crack counterfeit 100-euro note operation

MADRID: Spanish police said on Saturday they had made 14 arrests in connection with one million euros ($1.1 million) worth of counterfeit 100 euro bank notes which passed undetected by ATMs and other devices, foreign media reported.

“The banknotes produced by the organisation were made by hand, were very high quality, as they used special inks, watermarks and different elements designed to circumvent the detection mechanisms,” said Spanish National Police spokesperson Elisa Rebolo.

Based in Naples, Rome and Barcelona, a gang of Pakistani origin people distributed the bank notes in Italy, France, Greece and Spain, police said. Police said they had arrested distributors at Barcelona airport and the city bus station, in both instances carrying 70,000 euros in counterfeit notes. The police operation involved forces in Spain, Italy and Greece and began last November after large numbers of counterfeit notes were discovered in Barcelona.