Arrested 37 people belonging to a criminal organization dedicated to the introduction of counterfeit 500 euro bills

The detainees introduced the banknotes mainly in the provinces of Alicante, Almería, Barcelona, ​​Granada, Seville and Valencia, and are charged with alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, falsification of documents, counterfeiting of currency, fraud, money laundering and crime against public health

After a year of investigation, the agents have carried out 16 house searches and have intervened 201,000 euros falsified, anabolics of different types, 12,000 euros in bitcoin, 32,000 euros in legitimate money, two simulated weapons and several prohibited weapons

Civil Guard agents, in a joint operation with the National Police and EUROPOL, have dismantled a criminal organization allegedly dedicated to the introduction of counterfeit currency in Spain, specifically 500 euro bills. During the operation, 37 people have been arrested in different provinces of Spain accused of committing crimes of criminal organization, document falsification, counterfeiting of currency, fraud, money laundering and crime against public health. The operation remains open at this time and new arrests are not ruled out.

The investigations began in October 2019, when the agents detected several counterfeit 500 euro bills in different locations in the province of Granada. Subsequently, new copies of the same forgery were detected by the rest of the autonomous community of Andalusia. The investigations revealed that one of those investigated had traveled from the Alicante town of Santa Pola to Seville to sell more than 170 pieces. Days later, these counterfeit bills began to appear in the financial circuit introduced by the trickle system.

Introduction of counterfeit currency into ATMs

After a year of joint investigation, which has been very complex due to the continuous security measures taken by those investigated, the operation was exploited, involving a total of 402 counterfeit 500-euro bills (201,000 euros) during the 16 records carried out. Anabolics of different types were also intervened, 12,000 euros in bitcoin, 32,000 euros in legitimate money, two simulated weapons and several prohibited weapons. The provinces where the most banknotes have been intercepted are Alicante, Almería, Barcelona, ​​Granada, Seville and Valencia. In the Catalan capital, several people of Romanian nationality were identified when they tried to introduce the false currency through ATMs of different banking entities, using the well-known mules, that is, people who open accounts in exchange for an economic reward. For this reason, several banking entities in Spain have been affected.

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