The Mossos d’Esquadra have dismantled a laboratory for counterfeiting 20 and 50 euro banknotes installed in a luxury duplex in Barcelona, ??where fake currency worth around 100,000 euros was produced that was used to make purchases in shops in Barcelona. the city.
The laboratory, which had been active since the end of 2021, produced very good quality counterfeits, as reported this Saturday in a statement by the regional police.
The investigation that led to the dismantling of this banknote factory began in early 2022, when law enforcement agents detected the existence of new counterfeits circulating in businesses in the city.
The person who introduced the bills into the commercial circuit was always a woman wearing a wig and hiding her face with a mask and sunglasses.
Throughout the investigation, the Mossos d’Esquadra realized that the counterfeit bills that were hitting the streets were improving both in the quality of the paper and in the use of three-dimensional holograms, the imitation of the stamping of the watermark. and other tactile brands.
The investigations advanced when merchants in the Sants Montjuïc area alerted the Mossos on May 6 that a woman was making small purchases with counterfeit bills, which led to her arrest.
The woman, who at the time of being arrested was carrying several counterfeit bills, has no criminal record.
At his home, a very luxurious duplex, the police discovered the laboratory, which consisted of a laptop containing images of counterfeit bills, a high-quality printer, blank sheets of 75% cotton and 25% linen, and sheets with prints of 20 and 50 euro bills, among other material necessary for counterfeits.
In addition, agents found more than 50,000 euros in counterfeit banknotes.
The detainee, who wrote down in a notebook the counterfeit bills she produced and how she could improve them, explained to the police that she decided to dedicate herself to counterfeiting bills after running out of income and fearing that she would not be able to continue maintaining her high standard of living.
Since 2022, the Mossos d’Esquadra have detected an increase in crimes related to the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit euros.
Since the beginning of 2024, the regional police have already carried out three important operations related to this type of falsifications.
