Tim McNulty
A BRITISH family have been arrested by police in Spain accused of having used fake cash to pay for their holiday.
Police in Mallorca nabbed five members of the same family, described as British and Irish, and arrested them on suspicion of currency falsification.
Officers alleged the relatives had obtained €400 by swapping fake pound notes in currency exchanges, and seized £850 in ‘high-value’ counterfeit £50 notes.
A Guardia Civil spokesman said: “The Civil Guard has arrested five Irish and British people for an alleged crime of currency falsification.
“The detainees were on holiday in Santa Ponsa where they allegedly introduced counterfeit £50 notes into the system through bureaus de changes.
“Officers tracked down and arrested these people, all members of the same family, seizing 400 euros in legal tender which they had obtained with the counterfeit notes.”
Suspicion was raised by a supermarket worker when he was given a £50 by one suspect in return for a bottle of water.
The ‘high quality’ counterfeits feel similar to legal tender which, along with fake watermarks, made their detection very difficult, the police said.
