Wendy WilliamsSPANISH police have seized 1.5 million euros in fake bank notes after uncovering one of Europe’s biggest ever forgery scams.
Cops made 25 arrests after discovering the gang were printing fake 50-euro notes in a building disguised as a canned food depot.
At the factory in the village of Beniajan in Murcia they seized 10 laser printers, computers and guillotines.
The mafia-linked network – also suspected of drug trafficking – distributed the money to 20 European countries and imported smaller forged notes from Italy.
“It is one of the biggest acts of forgery in Europe in terms of the quality and the amount of money printed,” a statement from the national police said.
“The group had distributed more than two million fake euros in Spain and other European countries.”
They were finally located after police intercepted a drug smuggling gang in Murcia and discovered the fake notes.
The gang were selling the notes to mafia gangs at 10 per cent of the face value.
Police swooped on premises around Spain, including Galicia, Alicante and Murcia.
A statement from the European police agency Europol, which worked alongside Spanish detectives, said that the investigation was ongoing and that further arrests could be expected.
